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tectbhdR  bReadiNctch  QNNSO  sis. 


THE  IRISH  YERSION 

OF  THE 

HISTORIA  BRITONUM  OF  NENNIUS. 

EDITED,  WITH  A  TRANSLATION  AND  NOTES, 

BY    JAMES    HENTHORN    TODD,    D.D.,  M.  R.  I.  A., 

KKU.OW  OK  TRINITY  COLLEGE,  DUBLIN,   ETC. 

THE  INTKODl'CTION  AND  ADDITIONAL  NOTES 

BY    THE    HON.    ALGERNON   HERBERT. 


DUBLIN: 
PRINTED  FOR  THE  IRISH  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  SOCIETY. 

MDCCCXLVIII. 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 


Text  of  the  following  work  is  taken  principally 
from  a  collation  of  three  MSS.,  which  are  referred 
to  in  the  Notes  by  the  letters  D.,  B.,  and  L. 

1.  The  first  of  these,  denoted  by  D.,  is  a  miscella- 
neous volume,  containing  various  tracts  and  frag- 
ments of  the  fourteenth,  fifteenth,  and  sixteenth 
centuries ;  it  was  formerly  in  the  possession  of  the  celebrated  anti- 
quaries, Duald  Mac  Firbis  and  Edward  Lhwyd,  whose  autographs  it 
possesses ;  and  it  is  now  preserved  in  the  Library  of  Trinity  College, 
Dublin,  Class  H.,  Tab.  3.  No.  17. 

The  volume  contains  a  copy  of  the  celebrated  code  of  Brehon 
Laws  called  the  Seanchus  Mor",  with  a  copious  gloss  of  great  value. 
This  is  followed  by  several  other  tracts  and  fragments  of  tracts  on 
Brehon  Law,  of  difl'erent  dates,  and  by  various  scribes,  some  of  whom 
have  given  their  names. 

After 

a  For  an  account  of  the  Seanchus  Mor,  nity  College,  see  Dr.  Petrie's  Essay  on 
with  several  extracts  from  this  very  MS.  Tarallill,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  lioyal 
of  it,  and  from  another  copy  also  in  Tri-  Irish  Academy,  vol.  xviii.  pp.  71-80. 

IRISH  AECH.  SOC.   l6.  b 


VI 


After  the  Law  Tracts  follow  several  miscellaneous  pieces  on  his- 
torical and  religious  subjects,  short  anecdotes  of  Irish  saints,  poems, 
and  historical  romantic  tales.  Of  these  the  most  curious  are  :  i .  The 
tract  called  Seancrmp  na  jielec,  or  the  History  of  the  Cemeteries, 
containing  an  account  of  the  most  celebrated  burial-places  of  the 
Pagan  Irish  ;  2.  The  History  of  the  plebeian  Tribes  called  Aitheach 
Tuatha,  who  were  subjugated  by  King  Tuathal  Teach tmar,  in  the 
second  century  of  the  Christian  era ;  3.  A  List  of  the  ancient  Tales  or 
historical  Eomances  which  were  wont  to  be  recited  by  the  Bards  at 
Entertainments,  in  presence  of  Kings  and  Chieftains ;  4.  A  List  of 
the  celebrated  Women  of  Antiquity  ;  with  many  other  tales,  tracts, 
genealogies,  and  poems,  of  the  greatest  value  for  the  illustration  of 
Irish  history,  language,  and  topography. 

The  copy  of  the  Leabhar  Breathnach,  or  British  Book,  contained 
in  this  MS.,  occurs  in  p.  8o6b,  and  was  probably  written  in  the  four- 
teenth, or  early  part  of  the  fifteenth  century. 

This  is  the  copy  of  the  Irish  version  of  the  Britannia  of  Nennius, 
which  has  been  made  the  basis  of  the  text  of  the  following  work, 
and  is  denoted  by  D.  in  the  notes.  Its  errors,  however,  have  been 
corrected,  as  far  as  the  Editor  was  able  to  correct  them,  by  collation 
with  the  other  MSS.  to  which  he  had  access  ;  and  such  interpola- 
tions as  occurred  in  the  other  MSS.,  when  judged  of  any  value,  have 
been  inserted  in  their  proper  places.  All  these  deviations  from  the 
text  of  D.  have  been  mentioned  in  the  notes. 

2.  The  second  MS.  (denoted  by  B.)  is  the  copy  of  the  Irish  Nen- 
nius, which  is  contained  in  the  Book  of  Ballymote,  in  the  Library  of 
the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  written  in  the  fourteenth  century. 

The 

'-'  Or  rather  column  806.  The  MS.  is  paged  by  Edward  Lhwyd,  each  column, 
written  some  parts  of  it  in  double  columns  wherever  columns  occurred,  being  count- 
and  some  parts  not  :  the  whole  has  been  ed  for  a  page. 


Vll 


The  order  of  the  sections  in  this  MS.  differs  considerably  from 
that  of  D.,  and  it  also  contains  several  interpolations.  The  Editor 
has  numbered  the  sections  in  the  printed  text  of  the  work,  in  order 
to  enable  him  with  greater  facility  to  refer  to  them. 

The  order  of  the  copy  in  the  Book  of  Ballymote  is  as  follows  : 
It  begins  with  the  section  Ego  Nennius,  marked  sect.  i.  p.  25,  infra. 
Then  follows  the  chapter  "  On  the  Origin  of  the  Cruithnians,"  which 
has  been  given  in  the  Additional  Notes,  No.  XX.,  p.  xci.  After 
which  follow  sections  IL,  in.,  and  iv.,  as  in  the  printed  text. 

After  section  iv.  this  MS.  interpolates  the  prose  account,  sections 
xxvn.  and  xxvni ,  followed  by  the  poem  on  the  Origin  and  History  of 
the  Picts  or  Cruithnians,  which  has  been  published  section  xxx.  p.  1 26, 
infra. 

Then  follow  sections  v.  to  xiv.,  inclusive,  in  the  same  order  as 
in  the  text ;  but  after  section  xiv.  is  interpolated  the  Legend  of 
St.  Cairnech,  which  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix,  No.  I.,  p.  178. 

After  this  we  have  the  history  of  the  Saxon  conquest,  sect.  xv. ; 
the  miracles  of  St.  German,  sects,  xvi.,  xvn. ;  and  the  story  of 
Ambrose  Merlin  and  the  Druids,  sects,  xvni.,  xix.;  followed  by  the 
history  of  the  wars  of  Gortimer  (or  Gortighern,  as  he  is  called  in 
this  copy),  sects,  xx.  to  xxiv.,  inclusive,  in  the  same  order  as  in  the 
text. 

At  the  end  of  this  last  section  recording  the  battles  of  Arthur, 
and  briefly  noticing  the  conversion  of  the  Saxons  to  Christianity,  the 
copy  of  this  work  in  the  Book  of  Ballymote  ends  :  and  its  comple- 
tion is  notified  by  the  words  pmic  Do'n  bpeacnocop,  which  are 
literally  "Finit  to  the  Breathnochas,"  where  the  scribe  evidently 
wrote  Finit  for  Finis.  It  appears  also  from  this  note  that  the  title 
then  given  to  this  book  was  "  The  Breathnochas,"  which  would  be 
equivalent  to  Britanismus,  if  we  may  be  permitted  to  coin  such  a  word. 

^  2  3.  The 


Vlll 

3.  The  next  authority  which  has  been  employed  in  the  formation 
of  the  text  is  the  copy  of  this  work  in  the  Book  of  Lecan,  a  MS. 
written  in  the  year  1417°.  To  this  copy  is  prefixed,  but  in  a  more 
recent  hand,  the  title  Leabctp  bpearnach  annpo  pip,  which  has  been 
adopted  in  the  title  page  of  the  present  volume,  and  which  expresses 
what  the  Irish  understood  by  the  Latin  titles,  "  Eulogiiun  Britannia:," 
and  "  Historia  Britonum." 

This  copy,  which  is  denoted  byL.  in  the  notes,  begins  with  sect, 
ii.,  Britannia  insula,  &c.,  p.  27,  infra,  omitting  the  list  of  British  cities. 
Then  follows  the  chapter  on  the  origin  of  the  Picts,  which  will  be 
found  in  the  Additional  Notes,  No.  XX.  p.  xciii.  Section  in.  is 
omitted  altogether,  and  then  follow  sects,  iv.  to  vin.,  inclusive. 
Sections  ix.  and  x.  are  omitted  in  this  place.  Then  comes  the 
account  of  the  adventures  of  the  Gacdhil,  sects,  xi.  to  xv.,  inclusive'1, 
followed  by  another  copy  of  the  history  of  Roman  and  Saxon  Britain, 
sects,  v.,  vi.,  vii.,  vin.,  which  is  headed,  Oo  peancnp  fojieacan 
anopo  booeapca,  "  Of  the  history  of  Britain,  here  follows  ;"  but 
the  title  prefixed  to  sect,  vin.,  in  the  former  copy  of  this  chapter,  is 
omitted  here. 

Then  follow  sects,  ix.,  x.,  with  the  title  Oo  galktlmb  Gpenri 
amail  moipeap  Nerniup  [sic]  annpo,  as  in  the  text,  p.  42.  After 
which  comes  another  copy  of  the  history  of  the  adventures  of  the 
Gaedhil,  sects,  xi.-xiv.,  with  the  title  Oo  imcheachccnb  ^aeioeal 
anopo  boof)  ca  ;  but  a  portion  of  sect.  xtv.  is  wanting  after  the  words 
cujjpacnji  leo  lapoain  raipechou,  p.  72,  line  9. 

About 

"•  This  date  may  be  collected  from  the  in  section  x.,  differs  considerably  in  this 

MS.  itself.  See  also  Mr.  O'Donovan's  note  copy  from  that  given  above,  p.  50.  See 

to  the  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters,  at  the  Additional  Notes,  No.  XX.,  p.  xciv.,  where 

year  1417.  the  more  important  variations  are  uo- 

d  The  account  of  the  sons  of  Cruithne,  ticed. 


IX 

About  ten  leaves  are  here  wanting  in  the  Book  of  Lecan,  which 
is  now  preserved  in  the  Library  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  al- 
though it  originally  belonged  to  Trinity  College6,  where  nine  of  the 
missing  leaves  were  discovered  by  Mr.  Curry,  bound  up  with  other 
MSS.,  (Class  H.  Tab.  2.  No.  17).  One  leaf,  however,  which  contained 
the  continuation  of  sect.  xvi.  is  lost,  and  the  next  page  begins  with 
the  words  ip  in  lo.ngeap  pin  cainig  a  ingean  co  h-Gngipc,  p.  84, 
1.  1 6,  to  the  end  of  sect.  xvn. 

Then  follows  the  account  of  Dun  Ambrose  and  of  the  contest  of 
Ambrose  Merlin  with  the  Druids,  sects,  xvm.  xix.;  then  the  Avars 
of  Gortimer  or  Gortighern,  sect.  xx.  to  xxn.,  with  the  short  account 
of  St.  Patrick,  sect,  xxin.,  and  the  remainder  of  the  history  of  the 
Saxons  from  the  death  of  Gortighern  (sect,  xxiv.)  to  their  conver- 
sion to  Christianity. 

This  was  also  regarded  by  the  scribe  who  copied  the  Book  of 
Lecan  as  the  conclusion  of  the  work,  for  he  has  written  the  word 
pinic  at  the  end  of  sect.  xxiv.  But  there  follow  immediately  the 
tracts  on  the  wonders  of  Britain,  sect,  xxv.,  and  on  the  wonders  of 
the  isle  of  Man,  sect.  xxvi. 

After  this  begins  what  seems  to  have  been  intended  as  a  new  edi- 
tion of  the  workf.  It  commences  with  the  chapter  Ego  Nennim, 
sect,  i.,  followed  by  the  chapter  on  the  origin  of  the  Picts,  which  has 
been  given  in  the  Additional  Notes,  No.  XX.,  p.  xcv. 

Then 

"  The  Book  of  Lecan  is  entered  among  cey,  and  by  him  deposited  in  the  Library  of 

the  MSS.  of  Trinity  College  in  the  Cata-  the  Royal  Irish  Academy.     See  O'lJeilly, 

logus  Manuscriptorum  Anglia;  et  Ilibcr-  Trans.  Iberno-Celtic    Society,   p.  cxvii.  ; 

nise,  published  at  Oxford,  1697  (No.  117,  Mac  Geoghegan,   Hist.   d'Irlande,  torn.  i. 

p.  22),  and  still  bears  the  Library  marks,  p.  39. 

D.  19.  It  was  carried  off  in  the  reign  of  f  This  new  edition  appears,  from  its  con- 
James  II.  to  Paris,  but  was  restored  to  tents,  to  have  had  special  reference  to  Piet- 
Ireland  at  the  instance  of  General  Vallan-  ish  history. 


Then  follows  "Britannia  imula"  &c.,  sect.ii.,  with  the  list  of  cities, 
and  sections  in.  iv.,  as  far  as  the  words  TTVC  lapech,  p.  32,  line  1 1. 

Next  we  have  the  account  of  the  origin  of  the  Picts  (sects,  xxvu. 
to  xxix.,  inclusive),  with  the  title  Oo  Chpnichnechaib  anop eo,  Do 
]iei]i  na  n-eolachK.  Section  xxix.,  containing  the  account  of  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  Picts,  after  their  settlement  in  North  Britain,  ob- 
tained their  women  from  the  Milesians  of  Ireland,  is  peculiar  to  the 
Book  of  Lecan. 

Then  follows  the  poetical  account  of  the  Picts,  sect,  xxx.,  want- 
ing, however,  the  last  two  stanzas. 

With  this  poem  the  second  copy  of  the  Irish  Nennius  in  the  Book 
of  Lecan  concludes. 

4.  A  fragment  of  this  Avork  is  also  to  be  found  in  the  remains  of  the 
Leabhar  na  h-U idhri,  preserved  in  the  Library  of  the  Royal  Irish 
Academy.  It  begins  on  the  first  page  of  the  second  leaf  now  remain- 
ing in  that  MS.,  with  the  words  ace  ceana  ol  pe,  £c.,  p.  94,  line  15, 
and  concludes  at  the  end  of  sect,  xxiv.,  which  in  this  MS.  was  also 
the  termination  of  the  work.     This  fragment  is  referred  to  in  the 
notes,  pp.  95-1 13,  by  the  letter  U.      The  Leabhar  na  h-Uidhri  is  a 
MS.  of  the  twelfth  century. 

5.  Another  copy  of  the  Leabhar  Breathnach  is  to  be  found  in  the 
Book  of  lly-Many,  or  the  Book  of  the  O'Kellys,  as  it  is  called  by 
O'Ecilly,  a  MS.  of  the  early  part  of  the  fifteenth  century,  transcribed 
by  Faclau  Mac  an  Gabhan,  whose  death  is  recorded  by  the  Four 
Masters  at  the  year  1423.     This  MS.  is  not  now  accessible  to  Irish 
scholars  in  Dublin,  and  it  has  not  been  possible  to  consult  it  for  the 
present  work,  although  it  is  believed  to  be  in  existence  in  the  pos- 
session of  a  private  collector  in  England.     In  O'Reilly's  time  it  be- 
longed to  Sir  William  Bethain. 

We 

s  See  p.  1 20,  note  c. 


XI 

We  learn  from  O'Reilly11,  that  at  the  commencement  of  this 
copy  of  the  work  there  is  or  was  "  a  memorandum,"  stating  "  that 
Nennius  was  the  author,  and  that  Giolla  Caoimhghin  translated  it 
into  Scotic." 

Giolla  Caoimhghin  died  about  A.  D.  1072,  or  shortly  after,  as  lias 
been  inferred  from  his  chronological  poem,  beginning  Qnnalaib  anall 
uile,  which  brings  down  the  series  of  events  to  that  year. 

If,  therefore,  he  is  to  be  taken  as  the  original  translator  of  Nen- 
niusS  we  may  probably  fix  the  middle  of  the  eleventh  century  as  the 
earliest  period  at  which  the  "  Ilistoria  Britonum"  appeared  in  an 
Irish  version. 

In  its  original  form,  the  work,  as  we  have  seen,  terminated  at  the 
end  of  sect.  xxiv. ;  and  all  that  follows  must  be  regarded  as  subse- 
quent interpolations,  although,  probably,  added  at  the  same  period 
as  the  translation  or  edition,  put  forth  by  Giolla  Caoimhghin. 

The  first  of  these  additions  contains  the  section  on  the  Wonders 
of  the  Island  of  Britain,  and  that  on  the  Wonders  of  the  Isle  of  Man. 
This  is  also  found  added  to  some  copies  of  the  Latin  of  Nenniusk,  with 
a  chapter,  omitted  in  all  the  Irish  copies,  on  the  Wonders  of  Ireland. 

The  tract  on  the  history  of  the  Picts  (sects,  xxvir.-xxix.),  with 
the  curious  poem  (sect,  xxx.),  now  for  the  first  time  printed,  is  also 
to  be  regarded  as  an  addition  made  to  the  original  work.  The  Book 
of  Ballymote,  although  it  omits  the  Mirabilia,  has  preserved  these 
sources  of  Pictish  history,  of  which  the  prose  portion  was  known  to 
Pinkerton,  through  a  very  faulty  transcript,  and  still  more  erro- 
neous 

h  Transactions  of  the  Ibcrno-Celtic  So-  toria  to   an   earlier  author.- — See  his  re- 

ciety,  p.  cxxii.  marks,  Introd.  p.  21. 

'Mr.    Herbert,    however,     has    shown  k  See  Mr.  Herbert's  note  '",   pp.  113- 

that  there  is  some  reason  to  attribute  the  114. 
first  attempt  at  a  translation  of  the  His- 


Xll 

neous  translation,  but  the  poem  appears  to  have  escaped  his  notice. 
Although  the  text  is  corrupt  in  many  places,  in  both  the  MSS.  that 
have  been  employed  in  editing  it,  yet  it  is  hoped  that  its  publication, 
even  in  the  imperfect  state  in  which  we  have  it,  will  be  regarded  as 
a  service  of  some  value  to  the  student  of  Scottish  history. 

The  next  interpolation  or  addition  is  an  Irish  version  of  the  do- 
cument already  known  to  the  readers  of  Innes  and  Pinkerton,  under 
the  title  of  the  "  Chronicon  Pictorum."  This  curious  fragment  occurs 
only  in  the  manuscript  D. ;  but  another  copy  of  it  has  been  given  in 
the  Additional  Notes1,  from  a  MS.  in  the  Bodleian  Library™  which 
preserves  a  considerable  fragment  of  the  Psalter  of  Cashel,  and  evi- 
dently contained  formerly  a  copy  of  the  Leabhar  Breathnach,  or  Irish 
version  of  Nennius,  of  which  the  leaf  containing  the  Pictish  Chro- 
nicle is  now  the  only  remnant. 

Next  follows  (sect.  xxxm.  p.  168),  an  abridged  translation  of  the 
beginning  of  the  history  of  the  Venerable  Bede.  This  document  occurs 
also  immediately  after  the  Pictish  Chronicle,  in  the  Bodleian  MS.  It  is 
of  very  little  value,  but  as  it  appears  to  have  been  connected  with  the 
work,  and  to  have  been  regarded  as  a  part  of  it  in  the  manuscript 
D ,  which  has  been  principally  followed,  it  was  thought  right  to  in- 
clude it  in  the  present  volume. 

The  Appendix  contains  some  other  documents  of  the  same  kind, 
not  so  immediately  connected  with  the  Leabhar  Breathnach  in  any 
of  the  MSS.,  but  tending  to  illustrate  the  history  to  which  it  relate?, 
and  the  traditions  prevalent  at  the  period  when  it  was  compiled. 
The  first  of  these  documents  is  the  Legend  of  St.  Cairnech,  which, 

as 

1  No.  XVIII.  p.  Ixxv.  further  remarks  on  it  by  Mr.  O'Donovan, 

m  See  an   account  of  this  MS.,  by  the  in  his  Introduction  to  the  Book  of  Rights, 

Editor,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Royal  published  by  the  Celtic  Society,  p.  xxviii. 

Irish  Academy,  vol.  ii.  p.  33;  and  some  etseq. 


Xlll 

as  we  have  seen,  occurs  only  in  the  Book  of  Ballymote,  having  been 
interpolated  in  the  copy  of  the  Irish  Nennius  there  preserved,  imme- 
diately after  the  account  of  the  final  conquest  of  Britain  by  the 
Romans.  It  relates  to  the  history  of  the  sixth  century,  although  it 
is  evidently  a  compilation  of  a  much  later  period. 

The  next  document  inserted  in  the  Appendix  is  an  account  of 
the  "Wonders  of  Ireland,  chiefly  from  the  Book  of  Ballymote.  This 
tract  is  not  without  interest,  as  a  curious  collection  of  ancient  fables 
and  traditions,  not  very  unlike  the  celebrated  Otia  imperialia  of  Ger- 
vase  of  Tilbury,  and  compiled  probably  about  the  same  period.  It 
proves,  incidentally,  that  the  stories  of  Irish  wonders  told  by  Giraldus 
Cambrensis,  for  which  Lynch  has  so  severely,  and,  as  it  now  appears, 
so  unjustly  censured  him,  were  not  his  own  inventions,  but  copied, 
with  some  embellishments  of  his  own,  from  the  genuine  traditions  of 
the  Irish  people. 

The  poem  of  Maelmura  of  Fathain,  on  the  history  of  the  Milesian 
or  Gadelian  invasion  of  Ireland,  is  now  published  for  the  first  time, 
and  it  was  thought  worth  while  to  add  to  it  the  contemporaneous 
poem  on  the  history  of  the  Albanian  Scots,  known  under  the  name 
of  the  "  Duan  Albanach,"  although  this  latter  poem  has  already  been 
published  by  Pinkerton,  by  Doctor  O'Conor,  and  more  recently  by 
Mr.  Skene,  in  the  "  Collectanea  de  Rebus  Albanicis,"  edited  by  the 
lona  Club. 

Thus  the  present  work  will  be  found  to  contain  three  specimens 
of  the  bardic  sources  of  British  and  Irish  history,  written,  one  of  them 
in  the  ninth,  and  the  others  probably  in  the  eleventh  century,  con- 
taining the  traditions,  as  they  were  then  currently  received,  of  the 
origin  of  the  Pictish  and  Milesian  tribes,  and  the  succession  of  the 
early  kings  of  Scotland.  Two  of  these  poems  are  now  published 
for  the  first  time ;  and  the  third  is  presented  to  the  reader  in,  it  is 

IRISH  AKCH.  SOC.   1 6.  C  hoped 


XIV 

hoped,  a  very  much  more  correct  version  than  those  which  accom- 
panied the  former  publications  of  it. 

In  conclusion,  the  Editor  has  to  acknowledge  his  very  great 
obligations  to  Mr.  O'Donovan  and  Mr.  Curry,  for  the  invaluable 
assistance  they  have  afforded  him  throughout  the  following  work. 
Without  them  he  could  not  have  executed  it ;  and  to  them  he  is 
indebted  for  the  greater  part  of  the  historical  and  topographical 
information  which  is  collected  in  the  notes.  For  many  valuable  re- 
ferences to  ancient  Glossaries,  and  other  MSS.,  containing  philo- 
logical and  historical  illustrations  of  obscure  or  obsolete  words  and 
phrases,  he  is  specially  indebted  to  Mr.  Curry. 

The  Editor  has  preserved  the  orthography  of  the  original,  with- 
out any  attempt  at  correction,  or  even  at  uniformity ;  and  in  the 
case  of  proper  names,  he  has  retained,  even  in  the  English  transla- 
tion, the  spelling  of  the  Irish.  This  seemed  necessary,  in  order 
to  give  the  English  reader  a  fair  representation  of  the  age  to  which 
the  original  belongs.  Thus  the  Picts  are  called  Cruithnians  ;  the 
Gaels,  Gaedhil ;  Ireland,  Eri ;  and  Scotland,  Alba". 

The  Notes  marked  (if.)  have  been  contributed  by  Mr.  Herbert. 
For  those  marked  (T.)  the  Editor  is  responsible. 

JAMES  II.  TODD. 

TRINITY  COLLEGE, 
April  8th,  1 848. 

"  In  some  few  instances  this  rule,  from  inadvertence,  has  not  been  adhered  to. — 
See,  pp.  41,  43,  47,  53-  59- 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 

INTRODUCTION 1 

Liber  Britannicus, 24 

Of  the  Kings  of  the  Romans 38 

Of  the  Conquest  of  Ireland,  as  recorded  by  Nennius 42 

Of  the  Adventures  of  Gaedal 52 

Of  the  Conquest  of  the  Saxons 74 

Of  the  Miracles  of  German, 78 

Of  the  Fortress  of  Ambrose  [Merlin]  and  his  Contest  with  the  Druids, 90 

Of  the  Warfare  of  Gortimer, 98 

Of  the  Wonders  of  Britain, 112 

Of  the  Wonders  of  Manann, 118 

Of  the  Cruithnians,  or  Picts 120 

Ancient  historical  Poem  on  the  Origin  of  the  Cruithnians 126 

Of  the  Origin  of  the  Cruithnians — the  Irish  Version  of  the  Chronicon  Pictorum,      .     .154 

The  History  of  Britain,  abridged  from  Bede, 168 

APPENDIX. 
No. 

I.   Of  the  Miracles  of  Cairnech, 178 

II.   Of  the  Wonders  of  Ireland,  according  to  the  Book  of  Glendaloch, 192 

III.  The  Duan  Eireannach  ;  an  ancient  historical  Poem  on  the  Milesian  Invasion  of  Ire- 

land, by  Maelmura  of  Fathain, 220 

IV.  The  Duan  Albanach ;  an  ancient  historical  Poem  on  the  History  of  the  Kings  of 

Scotland 270 


XVI 


ADDITIONAL  NOTES. 

No.  Page. 
I.  Comparative  View  of  the  Names  of  the  British  Cities  in  the  Irish  and  Latin 

Nennius, iii 

II.   Etymology  of  the  Name  of  Cruithnians v 

III.  The  Isle  of  Man vi 

IV.  The  first  Colonization  of  Ireland  under  Partholan viii 

V.  The  Firbolgian  and  Tuatha  de  Danann  Colonies, ix 

VI.  The  Scots, x 

VII.  Meaning  of  the  Phrase  "  Seeds  of  Battle," xi 

VIII.   The  Legend  of  King  Lucius, xiii 

IX.   The  Reign  of  Maximus xv 

X.   The  Limits  of  Britanny, xvii 

XI.   Leatha  or  Letavia, xix 

XII.   Severus  the  Second xx 

XIII.   The  Miracles  of  St.  German, xxi 

XIV.   Auspication  of  Cities  by  human  Sacrifices, xxiv 

XV.  Magh  Ellite,  or  Campus  Electi  in  the  Region  of  Glewysing xxv 

XVI.   Gortigern,  son  of  Guatal xxviii 

XVII.   The  History  of  the  Picts xxix 

XVIII.  Irish  Documents  illustrative  of  the  legendary  History  of  the  Picts,  viz.  : 

1.  A  Tract  on  the  History  of  the  Picts  from  the  Book  of  Lecan,  ....  Ixv 

2.  The  Story  of  the  Wives  given  to  the  Picts  by  the  Milesians  of  Ireland, 

from  the  Book  of  Lecan, Ixxi 

3.  Story  of  the  Battle  of  Ardleamhnacta,  from  the  Book  of  Leinster,      .  Ixxiii 

4.  Irish  Version  of  the  Chronicon  Pictorum,  from  a  MS.  in  the  Bodleian 

Library, Ixxv 

XIX.  Macbeth,  son  of  Finleg, Ixxviii 

XX.   Variations  in  the  Section  "  On  the  Origin  of  the  Cruithnians,"  as  it  occurs 

in  the  Books  of  Ballymote  and  Lecan, xci 

XXI.    Additional  Remarks  on  the  Etymology  of  the  Name  Scoti, xev 

XXII.  Documents  illustrative  of  the  History  of  the  Personages  mentioned  in  the 

Legend  of  St.  Cairnech, ci 

XXIII.  Giraldus  Cambrensis  on  the  Picts  and  Scots, cxii 

XXIV.   Addenda  et  Corrigenda cx;v 

INDEX,     • .  cxvii 


INTRODUCTION. 


)HE  Irish  MS.  of  which  a  translation  is  here  given 
professes  to  be,  and  after  a  fashion  is,  translated 
from  the  Historia  Britonum  by  Nennius.  Little  is 
known  of  that  author  (if  not  rather,  editor),  and, 
as  usual,  the  less  we  know  the  more  we  are  ob- 
liged to  say;  for  knowledge  soon  tells  its  tale. 
That  the  Historia  Britonum  sometimes  bears  the  name  of  Gildas, 
may  be  sufficiently  accoxmted  for  by  these  circumstances:  that  the  first 
genuine  tractate  of  St.  Gildas,  concerning  the  Britons,  was  commonly 
called  his  Historia ;  and  that  a  fabulous  history  of  the  Britons  was 
formerly  extant  under  that  name.  But  it  can  be  further  explained 
by  the  nature  of  that  title,  for  name  indeed  it  is  not,  but  an  Irish 
title,  so  liberally  bestowed  upon  the  religious  and  learned,  that  Dr. 
C.  O'Conor  said  there  were  not  less  than  1000  persons  adorned 
with  it.  Script.  Rerum  Hib.  i,  198.  Therefore,  when  AVC  have 
shewn  its  original  author  to  be  closely  connected  with  Ireland,  we 
shall  have  removed  any  wonder  at  his  being  entitled  Gildas.  Its 
total  dissimilitude  to  the  works  of  St.  Gildas  of  Ruiz  is  apparent; 
IRISH  ARCH.  soc.  NO.  1 6.  B  arid 


and  it  also  differs  in  its  contents*,  and  in  some  portion  of  its  spirit, 
from  that  other  fabulous  history  which  is  cited  with  admiration  in 
Geoffrey  of  Monmouth  by  the  name  of  Gildas.  Its  printed  editions 
are  by  T.  Gale,  Oxon,  1691;  by  C.  Bertram,  jointly  with  St.  Gildas, 
and  a  production  given  by  him  to  the  world  under  the  name  of  Ri- 
cardus  Corinaeus,  Copenhagen,  1757,  in  the  title,  and  1758  in  the 
colophon;  by  the  same,  with  1758  in  the  title,  and  without  colophon, 
which  edition  I  have  never  seen;  by  W.  Gunn,  B.  D.,  London,  1819; 
and  by  Jos.  Stevenson,  London,  1838. 

The  Historia  Britomnnb  had  two  or  more  publishers  in  succession. 
That  is  to  say,  transcribers  of  it  made  more  or  less  of  change  and 
addition ;  and  sometimes  took  no  pains  to  inform  the  world  that  they 
were  mere  transcribers,  and  not  the  authors.  The  edition  rendered 
into  Irish  is  that  by  Nennius,  styling  himself  a  disciple  of  St.  Elbod  or 
Elbodug,  and  styling  the  priest  Beulan  his  master.  Some  copies  have 
a  long  Prologus,  which  declares  that  he  published  his  work  "in  A. D. 
858,  being  the  twenty-fourth  year  of  Mervyn,  King  of  the  Britons." 
Mervyn  Vrych  or  the  Speckled,  King  of  Man  in  his  own  right, 
and  of  Wales  in  that  of  Essyllt  his  queen,  reigned  over  the  latter 
country  from  818  to  his  death  in  843.  See  Powell's  Cambria, 

pp. 

a  As  to  its  contents,   the  matters  cited  Geoffrey,  a  free  translator,   or  by  his  ori- 

by  Geoffrey  were  there  related  satis  pro-  jrinal.      In   i.    cap.   17,    the  Welch   copy 

lire;  therefore  they  were  no  casual  para-  called  Tysilio  omits  the  reference,  p.  116. 

graphs,  missing  out  of  our  MSS.  Galfrid.  But  in   ii.  cap.    17,   it   quotes  Gildas  by 

lib.   i.   cap.   17,   ii.   cap.   17.      And  as  to  name,  p.  139.     Neither  can  we  say  with 

its  spirit,  it  evidently  sought  to  magnify  entire  certainty  in  what  language  it  was; 

the  Britons  at  the  expense  of  the  Romans,  but  probably  in  Latin, 

from  which  temper  our  Historia  is  nearly  '  The  Archdeacon   of  Huntingdon  in 

exempt;  iv.   cap.  3.     It  is  not   cited  by  one  place  cites  it  as  guu/am  author,   and 

name  in  cap.  4,  but  the  identity  of  the  in    another    as    Gildas    Ilistoriographus. 

sources   is  pretty  obvious.     I  know  not  Henr.  Hunt.  p.  301-13,    in   Script,  post 

whether  the  references  to  Gildas  are  by  Bedam.,  Franc.  1601. 


pp.  24-8;  Warrington,  i,  pp.  205-10;  Brut  y  Tywysogion,  pp.  47 5-8. 
He  alone  of  that  name  was  Rex  Britonum;  though  Mervyn,  third  son 
of  RodriMawr,  held  Powys  from  873  to  87  f.  The  year  858  fell  fif- 
teen years  after  his  death ;  which  argument  would  prove  the  forgery 
of  the  Prologus,  were  it  not  for  the  ignorance,  then  so  prevalent, 
of  the  current  year  of  our  Lord.  It  is,  however,  a  mere  swelling  out 
and  amplification  of  the  shorter  prologue,  in  a  bombastic  phraseology 
which  Nennius  did  not  employ,  and  it  is  not  credible  that  both  are 
genuine.  But  the  shorter  prologue,  or  Apologia,  is  to  be  received  as 
genuine.  It  begins,  as  in  the  Irish  version,  "  Ego  Nennius  Sancti 
Elbodi  discipulus  aliqua  excerpta  scribere  curavi,"  &c.;  but  it  is  in- 
terpolated from  the  longer  prologue,  and  otherwise  altered,  in  that 
version.  It  is  to  be  received,  first,  from  the  absence  of  internal  evi- 
dence to  its  prejudice;  secondly,  from  the  absence  of  internal  evi- 
dence. And  I  wonder  that  Mr.  Stevenson  should  urge,  for  such,  that 
it  occurs  not  in  MSS.  anterior  to  the  twelfth  century;  when  from 
his  own  shewing  we  collect,  that  there  exists  only  one  MS.  anterior 
to  circiter  1150;  one,  not  two,  for  the  MS.  of  Marcus  Anachoreta 
could  not  contain  it,  and  is  not  strictly  to  the  purpose.  The  document 
cannot  suffer  from  the  silence  of  MSS.  that  do  not  exist.  Thirdly, 
there  is  no  motive  for  the  forgery.  Great  or  even  well-known  names 
have  been  assumed,  in  order  to  give  currency  to  fictions ;  such  as 
Orpheus,  Berosus,  Ovid,  Tully,  Ossian,  and  (if  you  please)  Gildas. 
But  Nennius  was  nobody  at  all,  his  name  does  not  exist  elsewhere, 
and  no  other  works  belong  to  him.  What  was  to  be  gained  by  in- 
venting his  name  ?  The  fabricator  of  a  work  may  invent  an  ideal 
author  for  it.  But  here  we  must  suppose,  that  the  genuine  work  of 
some  other  man  was  by  forgery  ascribed  to  a  Nobody,  to  an  unknown 
person,  claiming  no  rank  or  distinction,  and  made  to  avow  his  modern 

date. 

c  Brut  y  Ty  wysog,  p.  48 1  -2.  Others  give  other  years ;  but  the  question  is  not  relevant. 

B2 


date.  The  rejection  of  this  document  would  therefore  appear  to 
me  uncritical,  and  needlessly  destructive  of  fact  and  document. 
Falsehood  is  most  usually  built  upon  a  basis  of  truth;  and  the  Apolo- 
gia or  lesser  prologue  was  the  substratum  upon  which  the  larger  one 
was  erected.  That  fiction  was,  however,  partly  founded  upon  the 
contents  of  the  book  itself,  which,  in  cap.  xi.  Gale,  p.  1 4,  Stevenson, 
purports  to  be  published  in  A.  D.  437  -(-  418  +  3  —  858;  and  in  the 
same  chapter  makes  mention,  though  irrelevantly  to  that  date,  of 
King  Mervyn,  and  of  the  fourth  year  (not  the  twenty- fourth)  of  his 
reign.  Such  are  the  sources  of  the  false  Prologus. 

The  name,  which  Geoffrey,  Archdeacon  of  Monmouth,  writes 
Nennius,  is  Nynniaw  or  Nynyaw  in  all  the  Welch  copies  of  the 
chronicles.  But  it  is  not  a  name,  whereof  the  etymon  or  significancy 
appears.  Those  chronicles  have  a  legend,  that  one  Nennius  was 
brother  of  Cassivellaunus,  fought  against  Cresar,  and  took  his  sword 
from  him,  slew  Labienus,  but  died  himself  of  his  wounds  in  fifteen 
days  after.  Galfrid.  Monumet.  iv.  cap.  3-4;  Brut  Tysilio.  &c.,  p. 
173-6.  To  connect  those  statements  with  our  historians  would  have 
exceeded  all  effrontery,  but  that  of  John  Bale.  That  eenturiator 
maintains,  that  Nennius,  brother  of  Cassivellaunus,  wrote  a  beautiful 
history  of  the  origin  and  progress  of  the  Britons,  which  another 
Nennius,  Abbot  of  Bangor,  translated  into  Latin  and  continued.  Cent. 
i,  fol.  13,  fol.  36,  7th  ed.  1 1548.  Mr.  Gunn's  observation,  that  Nennius 
is  described  by  Geoffrey,  i.  cap.  1 7,  iv.,  cap.  3  and  4,  and  by  Tysilio,  Coll. 
Cambr.  pp.  30  and  75,  as  a  British  historian,  was  made  inadvertently, 
being  at  variance  with  the  fact.  Gunn's  Preface,  p.  1 9.  Geoffrey's  au- 
thor makes  no  allusion  to  Nennius  the  historiographer;  though  he  has 
borrowed  things,  either  from  the  Historia,  or  from  sources  common 
to  both.  This  name  (written  Ninnius  and  Ninius  in  some  copies)  is 
in  all  probability  the  same  as  that  of  Ninia,  the  Apostle  of  the  South 
Picts,  and  founder  of  the  Church  of  Candida  Casa,  so  called  by 

William 


William  of  Malmesbury,  and  Nynia  by  Alcuin  and  Beda.  Vide  Ussher, 
Brit.  Eccles.  p.  161,  or  ed.  ii.  p.  137.  Ninianus  has  been  his  com- 
mon appellation  among  subsequent  writers.  He  had  a  brother,  St. 
Plebeias.  Johan.  Tinmuth,  ap.  Ussher  addenda,  p.  1059,  or  ed.  ii. 
p.  506.  Two  kings  were  said  in  the  Welch  mythologies  to  have 
formerly  reigned  over  part  of  South  Wales,  and  to  have  been  trans- 
formed into  oxen  for  their  sins.  Their  names  were  Nynniaw  and 
Peibiaw.  See  Mabinogi  of  Kilhwch,  p.  281;  note,  p.  351.  Some 
genealogies  of  King  Arthur  include  the  name  of  this  Nynniaw.  From 
Nynniaw  and  Peibiaw,  John  of  Tinmouth,  or  those  to  whom  he  was 
indebted,  probably  derived  the  idea  of  the  brother  saints  Nynniaw  and 
Plebiaw.  St.  Finnian  of  Maghbile  was  sent  in  his  youth  to  a  place 
in  Britain  called  Magnum  Monasterium,  by  John  of  Tinmouth, 
Rosnat,  Alba,  and  Monasterium  Albium,  in  Colgan.  A.  SS.  i,  pp. 
438-9,  and  civitas  qua?  dicitur  Candida  in  Colgan,  ib.  634.  Its  ab- 
bot is  styled  Monennus,  Monennius,  Nennius,  and  Nennio.  Colg.  ib. 
Ussher,  p.  954  or  494.  But  Finnian's  instructor  at  Candida  is  called 
by  his  biographer,  and  in  ancient  hymns,  Mugentius.  Colg  ib.  634. 
In  the  life  of  St.  Eugenius  he  is  called  Nennio,  qui  Mancenus  dicitur, 
de  Rosnatensi  monasterio.  Colg.  ib.  p.  430.  num.  4.  Dr.  Lanigan 
concluded  that  Mo-nennius  or  Nennio  was  no  other  than  Ninia,  the 
founder  of  Candida  Casa,  who  was  confounded  with  the  existing 
abbot,  by  reason  of  its  being  called  his  monastery.  See  Lanigan' s 
Eccles.  Hist,  i,  437,  ed.  ii  The  address  of  Alcuin's  epistle  was,  Ad 
FratresS.  Ninianide  Candida  Cam.  Besides  the  coincidence  of  can- 
dido,  and  alba,  it  might  have  been  added  that  the  Gaelic  name  Rosnat, 
promontory  of  learning,  agrees  with  the  Whithern  or  Whithorn, 
candidum  cornu,  of  the  Northumbrians.  Of  the  various  Irish  saints 
named  Ninnidh  or  Nainnidh,  and  sometimes  Latinized  into  Neimius, 
I  take  no  account,  as  they  belong  to  another  nation ;  and  it  is  un- 
certain if  it  be  the  same  name,  the  more  so  as  the  Gaelic  appellation 

of 


of  St.  Ninia  is  Ringcn  or  Ringan.  Ussher,  p.  66 1  ;  Chalmers's 
Caledonia,  i.  135.  Nor  do  the  Irish  copies  of  the  Historia  seem  to 
recognize  the  name  of  Nennius,  as  having  a  known  equivalent;  for 
they  give  it,  Numnus,  Nenmus,  Nemnius,  Neimnus,  Nemonus,  and 
Nenamnis.  I  do  not  know  if  the  name  in  question  hath  any  his- 
torical instances,  besides  those  of  the  Apostle  of  the  Picts  and  our 
historian. 

His  discipleship  unto  St.  Elbod  now  demands  consideration. 
The  four  chronicles  annexed  to  that  of  the  kings  of  Britain  do  not 
clearly  define  Elbod's  date.  He  is  said  to  have  flourished  in  755 
and  770.  Brut  y  Tywysog.  p.  473^.391.  Warrington  fixes  his 
appointment  to  the  primacy  of  North  Wales  (seated  at  Bangor) 
about  A.  D.  762.  The  Bonedd  y  Saint,  p.  42,  says  that  he  was  son 
ofCowlwyd,  and  bishop  [ofCaergybid  orllolyhead]  in  773.  He  died 
in  800,  according  to  the  Brut  y  Tywysog.  p.  392,  and  John  Brechva, 
p.  474;  and  in  809  according  to  the  Brut  y  Saeson,  p.  474;  Brut  y 
Tywysog.  ibid.  The  Annals  of  St.  David's,  carried  down  to  1285, 
say,  anno  770,  Pascha  mutatur  apiul  Britones  einendante  Elbodu  homine 
Dei;  and  A.  D.  811,  Ettodu  (sic)  episcopus  Venedotice  obiit.  Anglia 
Sacra,  1 1,  p.  648.  The  date  of  755  related  to  North  Wales,  and  this 
of  770  perhaps  relates  to  South  Wales;  another  South- Welchman, 
leuan  Brechva,  quotes  it.  Elbodu  (whence  Elvodugus)  is  no  doubt 
Elbod  Ddu,  i.  e.  Elbod  the  Black,  meaning  either  swarthy  or  black- 
haired.  Godwin,  in  his  book  de  Prajsulibus,  has  not  numbered  him 
among  the  bishops  of  Bangor,  which  he  might  have  done,  lie  seems, 
by  these  accounts,  to  have  been  in  activity  towards  the  middle  of 
the  eighth  century,  and  to  have  departed  this  life  in  the  first,  or 
ninth,  or  at  latest  eleventh  year  of  the  ninth  century.  But  the  book 

of 

d  H.  Llwyd,  in  his  Commentariolum,      his  birthplace,  and  erroneously  described 
p.  85,  note,  observes  that  Caergybi  was      as  his  see. 


of  Nennius  exhibits  the  date  of  A.  D.  858,  in  its  eleventh  chapter,  as 
being  the  third  year  of  the  existing  cycle  of  nineteen  years  or  forty- 
fifth  cycle  from  the  Nativity,  and  the  actually  current  year.  His 
professed  acquaintance  with  the  Roman  annalists  and  chronographers, 
and  with  those  of  the  Angli,  which  must  include  Beda  himself,  and 
his  computation  of  it  by  the  Paschal  cycles,  give  to  his  statement  of 
the  annus  Domini  a  credit,  which  is  wanting  to  quotations  of  that 
sera  by  other  editors  of  the  Historia  Britonum;  and  in  the  same 
sentence  he  correctly  states,  that  St.  Patrick  visited  Ireland  in  the 
twenty-third  cycle6.  Therefore  I  believe  him  not  to  have  been  far,  if 
at  all  wrong;  and  to  have  written  in  the  reign  of  Rodri  Mawr. 
Nennius  was  also  an  author  not  far  advanced  in  years,  for  his  niagis- 
ter  or  teacher,  Beulan,  was  not  only  living,  but  still  actively  influencing 
his  conduct.  Therefore  there  appears  a  disparity  of  date  between 
Elbod  and  his  disciple. 

But  I  do  not  deduce  from  his  words,  that  Nennius  did  learn  un- 
der Elbod  or  Elbodu,  or  even  that  he  was  born  when  that  person 
died.  Mere  individuals  can  have  only  personal  disciples ;  but 
founders  of  a  rule,  like  Benedict,  or  of  a  doctrine,  like  Arius,  arc' 
said  to  have  disciples  in  those  who  espouse  their  systems.  Now  St. 
Elbod  was  the  aiithor  of  the  greatest  revolution  known  in  the 
Welch  Church  between  the  fifth  and  sixteenth  centuries.  By  his  in- 
fluence and  authority  the  churches  of  Wales  were  first  led  into  con- 
formity with  the  Latin  communion ;  and  the  celebrated  Paschal 
schism,  after  350  years  of  duration,  began  to  be  abandoned  But 

this 

e  I   would  not  take   his  words  (xxiii.  jnration  of  the  cycle,  but  rather  as  the  fact 

cycli  decemnovennales  usque  ad  adve/itum  is.     For  if  he  had  been  as  ignorant  as  the 

S.  Patricii  in  Hiberniam,  et  ipsi  anni  ef-  other    British    chronologists,    he   would 

ficiunt  numerum  437  annoruni)  so  rigidly,  probably  have  missed  the  true  cycle, 
as  that  Patrick  came   in  437,  at  the  ex- 


8 

this  change  (which,  contrary  to  the  order  of  events  in  Ireland,  began 
in  the  north  and  was  most  resisted  in  the  south)  was  not  suddenly 
completed,  nor  without  violent  dissensions  among  the  clergy  and 
people;  to  which  cause  may  be  ascribed  the  various  years  in  which 
this  affair  is  said,  either  generally,  or  with  distinction  of  north  and 
south,  to  have  been  decided,  viz.:  755,  768,  770,  777.  Yet  though 
"  in  A.  D.  777,  Easter  was  changed  in  South  Wales"  (Brut  y  Tywys. 
p.  474),  that  change  was  not  as  yet  realized  there  in  802.  See 
Ussher,  Index  Chronol.  And  the  death  of  Elbod,  in  809,  is  said  to 
have  been  a  signal  for  fresh  disputes  on  the  subject.  Brut  y  Tywys. 
p.  475.  Betweenf  842  and  847,  it  was  still  a  topic  of  private  discus- 
sion, though  perhaps  no  longer  of  national  contention.  The  memory 
of  their  old  ritual  was  long  cherished  among  the  Welch;  who  er- 
roneously imagined  that  their  discipline  had  been  that  of  St.  John 
and  the  Seven  Churches  of  Asia,  and  therefore  paid  a  peculiar 
honour  to  that  apostle,  and  sometimes  called  their  religious  peculiari- 
ties the  ordinance*  of  John.  See  Beda,  Hist.  Eccl.  iii.  cap.  25;  Pro- 
bert's  Triads,  p.  79 ;  Triodd  Doethineb  Beirdd,  num.  219^1.314; 
Llewelyn  Vardd,  Cairn  y  Gadvan,  v.  5,  ab  ult.  In  the  spurious  pro- 
logus,  Ncnnius  is  made  to  entitle  himself  Dei  t/ratid,  S.  Elbodi  disci- 
pulus,  and  I  think  its  writer  understood  Nennius  as  I  do ;  not 
meaning  to  thank  God  for  giving  him,  personally,  so  learned  a  tutor; 
but  to  profess,  that  by  God's  grace  he  was  reunited  to  the  catholic 
communion  of  the  west,  which  the  Paschal  differences  had  disturbed 
for  several  centuries.  lie  was  not  a  disciple  of  John,  but  a  disciple 
of  Elbod.  It  is  observable  that  Nennius  (as  distinct  from  Marcus) 
computes  his  own  date  by  the  decemnovennal  or  Latin  cycle,  as  that 

established 

f  Vita  S.  Johan.  Chrysostomi,  cit.  Rice  scene  of  those  discussions,  appears  from 
Rees  on  Welch  Saints,  p.  66,  note.  That  the  date.  For  even  lona  had  then  con- 
Britain,  not  Ireland  or  Scotland,  was  the  formed  130  years. 


established  in  his  country  when  he  wrote  ;  and  we  verify  thereby  the 
fact,  that  he  was  an  Elbodian. 

It  is  commonly  said,  that  Nennius  was  a  monk  or  even  abbot  of 
Bangor  is  y  Coed,  studied  under  the  celebrated  Dunawd  Gwr  or 
Dionotus,  and  was  one  of  those  who  escaped  from  the  massacre  of 
the  monks  by  Ethelfrid,  King  of  Northumbria,  in  607.  There  is  not 
a  single  date  in  any  of  the  various  copies  of  the  Historia,  which  lays 
claim  to  an  earlier  century  than  the  ninth.  And  the  chief  motive  for 
revertino-  to  this  obsolete  idea  is  to  observe,  that  the  entire  notion 
of  his  belonging  to  Bangor,  and  his  title  of  Nennius  Bannochorensis, 
was  probably  a  mere  delusion,  founded  upon  his  being  a  disciple  of 
Elbod,  who  was  styled  Archbishop  of  Gwynedd,  and  was  Bishop  of 
Bangor  Vawr  in  Arvon,  a  place  remote  from  the  abbey  of  Bangor  is 
y  Coed  in  Cheshire,  or,  more  correctly  speaking,  in  Flintshire.  I 
have  detected  no  indications  of  his  town  or  province. 

He  had  for  instructor  a  priest  by  name  Beular,  or  rather  BeulanB, 
of  whom  a  little  more  has  been  said  than  he  merits.  "I  omitted 
(saith  Nennius)  the  Saxonh  genealogies,  cum  inutiles  magistro  meo, 
id  est  Beulario  presbytero,  visas  sunt."  Cap.  65.  Some  have  called 
him  Samuel  Beulan  ;  but  others  will  have  it,  that  Beulan  had,  by  his 
wife  Lseta,  a  son  Samuel,  who  wrote  commentaries  upon  Nennius. 
Gale  repeatedly  speaks  of  this  Samuel  as  an  interpolator  ;  Mr.  Ber- 
tram of  Copenhagen  becomes  quite  impassioned  on  the  subject;  while 
the  oracles  from  Mr.  Pinkerton's  tripod  pronounce  that  both  Nen- 
nius and  Samuel  are  equally  vile.  But  neither  father  nor  son  have 
any  historical  existence,  other  than  what  the  former  owes  to  the 

above 

8  Peu  llan,  regio  ecclesice,  or  regio  culta.      that,  being  then  in  existence,  the  Saxon 
h  That  omission   is    supplied   in   some      genealogies  were  not  received  by  him  into 
MSS.  at  considerable  length.  We  are  pro-      his  compilation  ;   at  least,  they  appear  to 
bably  not  to  understand  that  they  were      me  to  mention  no  person  subsequent  to 
composed  subsequently  to  Nennius  ;  but      the  eighth  century. 
IRISH  ARCH.  SOC.   1 6.  *  C 


10 

above  text  of  Nennius,  and  both  of  them  to  notes  in  prose  and  verse 
appended  to  one  or  two  of  the  MSS.  The  principal  record  of  Sa- 
muel is  in  the  following  production,  contained  in  a  Cambridge  MS.  of 
about  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century,  marked  Ff.  i.  27,  p.  20; 
which  Mr.  Stephenson  (Pref.  p.  xxvi.)  has  printed  in  a  form  meant 
to  be  explanatory,  but  rather  needing  explanation.  I  believe  I  have 
restored  them  to  the  form  in  which  the  document  exhibits  them. 

"  Versus  Nennini  ad  Samuelem  filium  magistri  sui  Beulani  presbytcri,  viri  reli- 
giosi,  ad  quern  historiam  suam  scripserat. 

"  Adjutor  bcnignus  caris  doctor  effabilis  fonis', 

.i.  Samueli 

"  Gaudium  honoris  isti  katholica  lege  magni, 
"  Nos  omnes  precamur,  qui  ros  sit  tutus  utatur. 

.i.  Beulani 

"  Xpiste1  tribuisti  patri  Samuelem,  leta  matre. 

.i.  mater  .1.  Samuel 

"  Ymnizat  hajc  semper  tibi  longoevus  Ben  servus  tui. 
"  Zona  indue  salutis  istum  pluribus  annis". 

"  Versus  ejusdem  Nennii. 
"  Fornifer  qui  digitis  scripsit  ex  ordine  trinis 
Incolumis  obtalmis  sitque  omnibus  membris. 
En  vocatur  Ben  notis  litteris  nominis  quini." 

Then  follows  the  false  statement  about  the  twenty -fourth  year  of 
Mervyn  Vrych,  extracted  from  the  spurious  Prologus.  The  initials 
of  the  words  in  the  first  three  lines,  from  adjutor  to  utatur,  go 
through  the  alphabet  to  U,  and  the  initials  of  the  last  three  lines  go 
on  to  Z ;  the  change  occurring  at  the  sacred  initial  X.  How  to  construe 
them  ;  what  fornifer  can  mean  ;  what  Benjj  means,  who  is  so  called, 
and  why  ;  and  what  the  nomen  t/uinum  is  ;  are  mysteries.  The  only 
thing  plain  from  them  is  the  origin  of  Samuel's  mother  Lceta,  in  verse  4; 

Icetd 

'  Fonis  for  the  Greek  ^wvaif.  thought  he  had  closed  the  preceding  one 

'  Sic.     The  p  in  Xpiste  is  the  Greek  with  istum  salu  —       Mr.  Stevenson   has 

Klio.  erroneously  printed  Amen,  for  annis. 
"  This  verse  stands  thus  in  the  MS.,  >>  Gualtherus  in  his  Alexandreis  lib.  iv. 

Zona  indue  salutisistum  tis  pluribus  annis.  says,    "  Successit  Ben  Num    Moisi    post 

The  tis  begins    a   line,   and    the    writer  bella  sepulto." 


1 1 


Icetd  matre,  his  mother  being  glad!  In  spite  of  these  obscure  sayings 
it  is  not  apparent  to  me,  that  Samuel,  son  of  Beulan  and  Lceta,  is  a 
different  person  from  Nennius  himself.  For  the  words  added  to  cap.  3 
in  one  of  Gale's  MSS.,  wherein  Samuel's  name  occurs  (and  wherein 
alone  it  occurs,  so  far  as  I  am  made  aware,  with  the  exception  of 
those  verses)  are  these :  "  I,  the  Samuel,  that  is  to  say  the  child,  of  my 
master,  that  is  to  say  of  Beulan  the  priest,  wrote  it  in  this  page,  yet 
this  genealogy  was  not  written  in  any  volume  of  Britain,  but  was  in  the 

writing  of writer."  Gale,  p.  119.  Bertram,  p.  187:  "Samuel, 

id  est  infans,  magistri  mei,  id  est  Beulani  presbyteri,  in  ista  pagina 
scripsi,"  £c.  Here  we  see,  that  Samuel  is  only  a  figurative  phrase 
for  one  dedicated  to  divine  studies  from  his  tender  years.  "  And 
the  child  Samuel  ministered  to  the  Lord  before  Eli."  But  there  is 
an  obvious  delicacy  in  not  saying  "  Eli  mei"  instead  of  "  magistri 
mei,"  for  the  priest  and  kind  patron  of  Samuel  was  a  feeble  and  im- 
perfect character.  The  youth  of  Nennius,  and  his  not  having  passed 
the  inferior  orders,  may  also  be  inferred  from  this  passage;  as  well 
as  from  cap.  65.  Therefore  the  writer  of  the  verses  could  not 
mean  Nennius,  but  might  mean  Beulan,  by  longamis  Ben.  If  these 
things  be  so  (and  I  see  them  no  otherwise)  we  shall  be  quit"  of  Sa- 
muel Beulanus,  Samuel  Beulani  filius,  Samuel  Britannus,  &c. ;  and 
Beulan  himself  remains,  only  known  for  his  contempt  of  Saxon 
genealogy. 

But  another  man  besides  Nennius,  and  before  him,  had  published 
the  Historia  Britonum,  Marcus  the  Anachoret.  To  him  that  His- 
toria  is  ascribed  in  the  famous  MS.  of  the  tenth  century,  published 
by  Mr.  Gunn.  It  was  penned  in  A.  D.  946,  being  the  fifth  and  last 
year  of  Edmund,  King  of  England;  pp.  45,  62,  80.  The  frequent 

repetition 

k  See  Bale,   Cent.  fol.    37,   «.,   38,  a.      Med.  et.  Inf.  Latin,  vi.  p.  417,  in  Ximutel. 
Leland  de  Script.  Brit,  cap.  48.     Fabricii      Pitseus  cit.  ibid. 


12 

repetition  of  this  date,  and  some  changes  in  the  catalogue  of  cities, 
shew  the  writer  to  have  been  an  Englishman  or  Anglo-Saxon.  Mr. 
Gunn,  in  his  title  page,  says  it  was  edited  by  Mark  in  the  tenth  cen- 
tury. But  Mark  flourished  early  in  the  ninth;  and  it  is  only  his 
transcriber,  who  gives  us  his  own  date  in  the  tenth.  Marcus  was  a 
Briton  born,  and  educated  in  Ireland,  where  he  was  for  a  long  time 
a  bishop,  but  he  settled  in  France,  where  (for  aught  that  appears)  he 
ended  his  days.  Heric  of  Auxerre  (in  a  prose  Life'  of  Germanus, 
which  mentions  an  event  of  A.  D.  873,  but  was  certainly  published 
before  October,  877)  reports,  that  he  and  divers  other  persons  had 
formerly  heard,  from  the  lips  of  Marcus,  a  narrative  concerning  Ger- 
manus; which  Heric  retails,  with  as  little  variation1"  from  the  same 
narrative  in  the  Historia  Britonum  (Marcus,  pp.  62-5 ;  Nennius, 
cap.  30-4),  as  could  be  expected  in  such  oral  repetitions.  Therefore 
the  heading  of  the  Petavian  MS.  derives  potent  confirmation,  from 
the  fact  that  Marcus  could  repeat  the  substance  of  it  by  heart.  Mr. 
Stevenson's  adverse  supposition  is  not  an  absurd  one,  that  the  tran- 
scriber of  A.  D.  946,  having  read  Hericus  de  Miraculis  Germani, 
and  seen  there  the  substance  of  this  story,  thence  inferred  that  Mar- 
cus wrote  the  Historia,  and  so  asserted  it.  It  may  be  replied  that,  if 
he  did  read  Hericus  he  would  have  seen  that  he  quoted  no  book,  but 
only  conversations;  and  that  Marcus  himself  in  those  conversations, 

referred 

1  Heric  also  formed,  out  of  the  most  natio  JJritonum  for  the  phrase,  so  strange 

ancient  Life  of  Germanus,  by  his  coteni-  to  his  ears,  of  regio  Poicysorum.  The 

porary  Constantius  Monachus,  a  poem  main  discrepance  is  the  expulsion  of  the 

which  entitles  him  to  a  high  rank  among  tyrant,  instead  of  the  burning  him  with 

modern  Latin  versifiers ;  upon  the  strength  fire  from  heaven.  It  is  astonishing  that 

of  which  Mr.  Stevenson  has  dubbed  him  Gale  should  annotate  "  Vide  Ericum  in 

Constantius  Hericus.  Prsef.  p.  xiii.  Vita  Germani,  quern  hsec  ex  Nennio  sump- 

m  Nothing  is  more  natural,  than  for  sisse  constat,"  when  the  contrary  is  de- 

Heric,  after  many  years,  to  substitute  clared  in  such  very  express  terms. 


'3 

referred  to  no  such  historical  work,  but  to  the  original  sources  of  it. 
"  The  aforesaid  bishop,  whose  probity  whosoever  hath  experienced 
will  by  no  means  hesitate  to  believe  his  words,  assured  me,  with  the 
addition  of  an  oath,  that  these  things  were  contained  in  Catkolicis 
litteris  in  Britannia."  But  the  words  litterce  Catholicce  do  not  apply 
to  such  a  compilation  as  this;  but  to  the  acta  or  gesta  of  their  saints, 
which  were  preserved  in  particular  churches 

However,  there  are  broader  reasons  to  be  considered,  than  the 
mere  assertion  of  the  MS.  The  Historia  is  the  work  of  a  Briton. 
None  other  is  likely  to  have  been  in  possession  of  so  many  British 
traditions;  and  the  Irish,  in  particular,  seem  to  have  held"  opposite 
traditions.  Besides,  he  plainly  signifies  himself  such,  in  a  phrase 
which  the  Anglo-Saxon  scribe  cannot  have  introduced,  where  he 
quotes  British  legends  " ex  traditione  nostrorum  veterum"  Marcus, 
p.  53.  Yet  the  work  of  this  British  man  is  that  of  an  Irish  author,  ad- 
dressing himself  peculiarly  to  the  Irish  people,  and  exclusively  Irish 
in  the  religious  part  of  his  feelings.  This  appears  in  his  notices  of 
Irish  history;  in  his  copious  notice  of  St.  Patrick;  but  chiefly  and 
most  demonstratively  in  the  fifty-third  page  of  Marcus0.  There  the 
epochs  of  Patrick,  Bridget,  and  Columkille,  the  three  patrons  of  all 
Ireland,  are  commemorated;  whereas  the  whole  work  does  not  con- 
tain the  name  of  David,  Iltutus,  Dubricius,  or  any  British  saint 
whatsoever.  Nothing  can  be  more  certain  than  the  author's  close 
connexion  with  Ireland.  This  truth  was  appreciated,  or  perhaps 
was  known,  by  those  transcribers'5  who  assigned  the  Historia  to 
Gildas  Hibernicus ;  for  its  author,  though  not  an  Irishman,  was 
really  an  Hibernian  Gildas,  or  man  of  religion  and  learning,  lint 

all 

n  For  they  derived  the  Britons  from          °  Cap.  n,  Gale;  16,  Stevenson. 
Britan  Maol,  son  of  Fergus  Eed-side,  son          p  See  Casimir  Oudin,  Script.  Eccl.  ii. 
of  Nemedius.  p.  73. 


14 

all  the  premises  are  true  of  Marcus,  who  was  natione  BritcP,  educatus 
vero  in  Hibernid,  and  had  been  an  Irish  bishop.  For  though  Heric's 
words,  "  ejusdem  gentis  episcopus"  are  equivocal,  the  doubt  is  solved 
by  those  of  the  Ekkehards  or  Eccards  of  St.  Gallenr:  "Marcus  Scot- 
tiaena  episcopus  Gallum  tanquam  compatriotam  suum  Roma  rediens 
visitat."  So  that  if  we  determine  to  reject  Marcus,  the  alleged 
author  of  this  production,  it  will  only  be  to  seek  for  some  other  man 
precisely  corresponding  in  circumstances.  Nennius,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  neither  recorded,  nor  doth  he  seem,  to  have  had  connexion 
with  Ireland;  he  was  not  an  Irish  religionist,  but  an  Elbodi  discipulus; 
and  he  refers  to  the  scripta  Scotorum  Anglorumque  as  to  things 
equally  foreign  to  himself. 

We  have  now  to  compare  the  date  of  Marcus  with  that  of  the 
Historia.  After  mentioning  Britannia  man/a,  Ileric  proceeds  to 
mention  the  holy  old  man  Marcus,  a  bishop  of  the  same  nation,  who 
was  by  birth  a  Briton,  but  was  educated  in  Ireland,  and,  after  a  long 
exercise  of  episcopal  sanctity,  imposed  upon  himself  a  voluntary 
pilgrimage,  and  having  so  passed  into  France,  and  being  invited  by 
the  munificence  of  the  pious  King  Charles,  spent  an  anachoretic  life 
at  the  convent  of  Saints  Medard  and  Sebastian;  a  remarkable  philoso- 
pher in  our  days,  and  of  peculiar  sanctity.  Eccard  Junior  explains 
to  us  that  his  pilgrimage  was  to  Koine,  and  that  on  his  return  from 
thence  he  visited  the  Abbey  of  St.  Gall.  His  sister's  son,  Moengal, 
accompanied  him,  whom  they  afterwards  named  Marcellus,  as  a  di- 
minutive from  Marcus.  At  the  request  of  Grimaldus  the  Abbot  of 
St.  Gallon,  and  at  the  persuasion  of  his  nephew,  he  consented  to 

tarry 

''  Hericus   do  Mirac.  Germ,  ap  Laliliu,  nicaruiii,    tom.  i.    p.    12.       In    Ekkehardi 

Bilil.  Manuscr.  I,  p.  555.  Minimi  Vita  Notkeri,  cap.  7,  ibid.  p.  230, 

r  Ekkehardus  Junior  decasibusMonast.  tin-re  are  similar  words. 
Sangallensis  ap.  Goldnsti  Rerum  Alaman- 


'5 

tarry  there,  which  raised  a  mutiny  among  their  servants,  who  desired 
to  return  home.  But  they  pacified  their  retinue  by  distributing 
among  them  the  bishop's  money,  mules,  and  horses.  The  com- 
mencement of  this  sojourn  fell  between  A.  D.  841  and  the  June  of 
872",  such  being  the  limits  of  Grimald's  abbacy.  After  a  time 
Marcellus  was  made  master  of  the  abbey  school,  and  of  the  boys  who 
were  training  up  to  the  monastic  life,  including  Notkerus,  who  was 
afterwards  called  Balbulus,  in  which  situation  he  distinguished  him- 
self in  music  and  other  sciences.  But  Marcus  afterwards  seceded 
to  the  abbey  of  St.  Medard  at  Soissons.  At  the  time,  between  473 
and  477,  when  Heric  was  Avriting  this,  Marcus  was  no  more;  for 
Labbe's  reading,  exercebat  vitam,  though  changed  by  the  Bollandists 
to  e.cercet,  is  confirmed  by  "  multis  coram  referre  xolitm  erat,"  by  the 
phrase  nostro  tempore,  and  by  the  description  of  him  as  having  then 
been  "  sanctus  senex"  But  his  entire  sojourn  at  St.  Gallon  succeeded 
his  sojourn  at  Rome.  And  his  journey  to  Rome  was  undertaken 
"  post  longa  pontificalis  sanctitatis  exercitia;"  the  commencement  of 
which  exercitia  could  not,  canonically,  have  preceded  the  completion 
of  his  thirtieth  year;  but  cannot,  according  to  the  laws  of  probability, 
be  fixed  to  its  earliest  possible  epoch.  From  all  which  circumstances, 
it  is  by  no  means  improbable,  that  the  birth  of  Marcus  ascended  into 
the  eighth  century. 

Such 

5  Ratpertus  de  Monast.  S.  Gallensi,  pp.  boy  of  fifteen  when  Marcellus  took  him 
6-9,  ibid.  Notker  the  Lisper  was  placed  in  hand,  the  latter  was  master  of  the  ab- 
under  Marcellus,  when  a  boy.  But  Not-  bey  school  in  847.  If  Notker  died  at  85, 
ker  died  in  91 2,  nimia  fetate  ingravescente,  84,  83,  &c.,  we  shall  draw  so  much  nearer 
and  in  senecta  bond  plenus  dierum  leato  to  841,  our  chronological  limit.  But  he 
fine  deficiens,  consoling  himself  with  the  could  scarcely  be  appointed,  before  his 
reflection  that  "  man's  days  at  the  most  uncle  and  he  had  made  some  considerable 
are  an  hundred  years." — Ecclus.  xviii.  9.  sojourn  at  the  abbey.  See  Ekkehardi 
Therefore  I  place  his  birth  at  least  eighty  Minimi  Vita  Notkeri,  cap.  32. 
years  before,  or  in  832;  and  if  he  was  a 


i6 

Such  being  the  chronology  of  Marcus  himself,  we  require  the  date 
of  the  book  ascribed  to  him.  Here  it  must  be  observed,  that  during 
and  before  the  first  half  of  the  ninth  century,  the  sera  of  Christ'  was 
recently  introduced  and  ill  understood,  among  the  British  and  Irish  ; 
whereat  we  need  not  complain,  seeing  how  imperfectly  it  was  worked 
out  by  Beda  himself.  "  The  Christian  aara  (saith  Mr.  Carte)  was 
not  then,  at  its  first  coming  into  use,  so  well  understood  as  it  hath 
been  since."  Their  use  of  the  two  Christian  asras  or  years  of  redemp- 
tion, viz.  the  Nativity  and  the  Passion,  sometimes  one,  sometimes 
the  other,  and  sometimes  both,  increased  the  confusion  of  their 
Dominical  dates.  But  the  plain  root  of  the  evil  was,  that  they  did 
not  know,  and  could  not  tell,  what  year  of  our  Lord  the  current 
year  was.  If  the  Christian  sera  were  now  of  recent  introduction, 
seldom  mentioned,  and  not  to  be  found  in  one  book  out  of  a  thousand, 
few  of  us  could  tell  what  year  thereof  it  is.  It  would  be  a  fact  of 
learned  and  not  obvious  attainment;  and  was  more  so  to  those 
whose  learning  was  scanty.  They  knew  how  many  years  the  reign- 
ing prince  had  reigned;  but  they  did  not  know  what  year  of  Christ 
that  was.  So  the  English  transcriber  of  Marcus  gives  us  his  date 
sufficiently,  viz.,  the  t/uintux  Eadmundi  regis  Anylorum,  but  absurdly 
adds  that  it  was  A.  D.  P.  946  and  A.  D.  N.  976 ;  and  twice  again 
states,  that  it  was  547  years  after  A.  D.  P.  447,  which  makes"  A.  D.  N. 
1024.  Yet  this  imbecility  does  not  affect  the  date,  which  is  con- 
sistently given.  Marcus  nowhere  gives  an  express  date,  that  we  can 
convert  into  the  Annm  Domini  But  we  have  his  assertion  that, 

"  from 

1  Upon  this  subject  see  the  learned  pre-  nexed    to    Moses    Williams's    edition    of 

lace  to  the  Ogygia,  and  O'Conor  in  Script.  Lhwyd's  Commentariolum. 

Rer.  Hib.  xi.  p.  20.     And,   for  specimens  "  According  to  his  computation,  which 

of  absurd   anachronism   in  that  a'ra,   see  allows  only  thirty  years  between  the  Na- 

Gale's  second  appendix  to  Nenuius,  p.  1 18,  tivity  and  Passion, 
and    the    -dirte   Cambro-Britannicse    an- 


17 

"  from  the  time  when  the  Saxons  came  into  Britain,  unto  the  fourth 
year  of  King  Mervyn,  428  years  are  computed;"  being  in  truth  about 
fifty-one  years  too  many.  Now  the  fourth  year  of  Mervyn  Vrych,  or 
822,  was  no  epocha,  cither  in  general  or  local  history;  and  no  motive 
can  be  conjectured  for  his  computation  stopping  at  that  year  of  the 
reign,  except  that  it  was  the  then  current  year.  We  must,  there- 
fore, dismiss  entirely  his  miserable  attempts  at  Christian  chronology, 
and  take  the  plain  fact,  that  he  was  writing  quarto  Mermeni  [Mervini, 
Nenn.]  regis.  p.  53.  Therefore  the  book  was  in  progress  of  composition 
in  the  year  822,  which  agrees  sufficiently  well  with  what  we  know 
of  Marcus.  It  equally  agrees  with  the  datev  of  820  ct  deincqxf, 
assigned  to  Gildas  Ilibernicus.  The  Historia  seems  to  have  been 
originally  composed,  whilst  a  certain  Fernmael,  son  of  Tudor,  was 
Lord  of  Buellt  and  Guortigerniawn ;  from  which  passage  and  others, 
I  conjecture  the  author  to  have  come  from  those  parts  of  Wales,  and 
to  have  had  some  acquaintance  or  connexion  with  that  descendant  of 
Vortigern.  All  copies  agree  that  Fernmael  was  eleventh  in  descent 
from  Pascent,  youngest  son  of  Vortigern.  Therefore  if  we  suppose 
Pascent's  son,  Briacat,  to  be  born  at  the  time  of  Vortigern's  death, 
which  Owen  calls  481,  and  Blair  484,  and  we  may  call  480,  then 
Ferumael's  birth,  at  thirty  years  to  the  generation,  will  fall  upon  780, 
and  the  forty-second  year  of  his  life  will  coincide  with  822.  There- 
fore this  date,  which  our  ignorance  when  Fernmael  lived  and  died 
deprives  of  any  direct  utility,  seems  at  least  to  be  consistent  with  the 
quartus  Mervini  regis,  or  822.  It  is  remarkable,  that  while  Nennius 
retains  the  assertion  that  Fernmael  was  actually  reigning  (regit  rnodo) 
the  text  of  Marcus  exhibits  regnavit.  p.  78.  Neunius,  cap.  52.  But 
that  is  the  handy  work  of  the  scribe  of  946,  who  was  particularly 
tenacious  of  his  own  date,  and  would  not  have  Fernmael  for  his 

contemporary. 
*  Cave  de  Script.  Eccles.  ii,  p.  1 6,  ed.  1 745. 

IRISH  ARCH.  SOC.  NO.   1 6.  D 


contemporary.  The  year  822  is,  therefore,  the  lowest  date  of  the 
original  Historia.  But  it  is  also  the  highest,  unless  we  are  disposed 
to  look  for  some  other  nameless  Brito-IIibernian,  anterior  to  Marcus, 
as  a  tortoise  for  the  elephant.  That  such  a  one  may  have  existed  is, 
of  course,  possible;  but  perhaps  criticism,  having  found  exactly  what 
it  wants,  will  do  better  to  acquiesce. 

It  results,  that  Marcus  compiled  this  credulous  book  of  British 
traditions,  for  the  edification  of  the  Irish,  circ.  A.  D.  822;  and  one 
Nennius,  a  Briton  of  the  Latin  communion,  republished  it  with  addi- 
tions and  changes,  circ.  A.I).  858.  We  should,  however,  keep  in  mind, 
that  we  have  not  the  text  of  Marcus  upon  which  Nennius  worked, 
but  a  text  which  was  tampered  with  about  ninety  years  after  Nen- 
nius wrote;  and,  therefore,  the  Marcian  text  of  the  Petavian  MS.  is 
not,  in  every  trifling  instance  where  they  differ,  the  oldest  of  the 
two. 

But  another  edition  or  revisal  of  the  llistoria  succeeded  that  of 
Nennius;  and  its  author  has  introduced  his  own  date  with  precision, 
yet  with  an  utter  ignorance  of  the  Christian  icra.  What  more  he 
introduced  besides  the  date  does  not  appear,  but  perhaps  nothing  of 
moment.  It  occurs  in  the  enumeration  of  the  six  ages  of  the  world, 
that  precede  the  British  history.  "From  the  Passion  of  Christ  800 
years  have  elapsed,  but  from  his  Incarnation  832,  down  to  the  thirtieth 
year  of  Anarawd,  King  of  Mona,  who  now  rules  the  region  of  Vene- 
dotia  or  Gwynedd"."  In  truth  Anarawd  or  llonoratus,  son  of  Rodri 
Mawr,  reigned  over  Gwynedd  from  876  to  913,  and  the  thirtieth 
year  of  his  reign  was  the  year  906,  and  the  same  in  which  that 
scribe  was  writing;  being  just  seventy-four  years  out  of  his  reckon- 
ing. Brut  y  Tywys.  p.  482-5.  And  as  he  republished  with  an  in- 
terpolated 

w  "  Wenedocioe  rcgiouis,  id  est  Guer-  bridge  manuscript,  Ff.  i.  27,  it  is  Guer- 
tiiet,"  apud  Gale,  male.  In  the  Cam-  net. 


19 

terpolated  date  the  Nennian  edition,  so  (we  have  seen)  did  another 
person,  in  A.  D.  946,  send  forth  again  the  older  Marcian  edition. 

It  will  strike  every  reader,  that  this  work  was  peculiarly  dealt 
with.  It  was  treated  as  a  sort  of  common  land,  upon  which  any 
goose  might  graze.  Mere  transcribers  seem  to  have  played  the  edi- 
tor, if  not  the  author.  The  dates  thrice  introduced  by  the  Petavian 
scribe  are  not  annexed  in  the  way  of  colophon,  but  are  interwoven 
into  the  solid  text,  in  complicated  sentences,  and  with  elaborate  mis- 
calculation. Nennius  himself  no  where  states,  that  he  was  republish- 
in"  with  a  limited  amount  of  change  and  addition,  the  Historia  of 

o"  o  ' 

the  Brito-Irish  compiler.  It  seems  to  have  been  regarded  as  the 
album  or  common-place  book  of  Britannia,  to  which  any  one  might 
laudably  add  such  passages  as  he  knew  of;  and  elucidate  or  obscure, 
according  to  his  ability,  what  he  found  already  there.  It  was  no 
rule  to  expunge  what  the  predecessors  had  stated,  even  when  stating 
the  contrary;  from  which  cause  inconsistencies  disfigure  the  text. 
So  Marcus  having  stated  that  St.  Patrick  went  to  Ireland  in  A.  D. 
405,  Nennius  has  faithfully  republished  it;  but  almost  in  the  next 
sentence  of  the  same  chapter  he  states,  that  there  were  twenty-three 
decemnovennal  cycles  unto  St.  Patrick's  advent,  in  a  true  sense,  I 
believe,  but  certainly  in  one  utterly  discordant  with  the  previous 
text.  In  like  manner,  Fernmael,  son  of  Tudor,  continued  to  be 
living  and  reigning  in  858,  and  in  the  thirtieth  of  Anarawd,  or  906, 
and  was  not  killed  off  till  946.  This  common-place  book  of  Britain 
seems  rather  analogous  to  the  histories  about  St.  Patrick,  which 
Tirechan  has  strung  together  under  the  name  of  Annotationes.  The 
Historia  Britonum  merits  such  a  title  equally  well,  and  the  like  of  it 
is  signified  by  its  writers  in  their  phrase  of  Experimenta,  cap.  i,  3, 
and  12,  Gale;  pp.  48,  53,  Gunn.  This  state  of  the  case  tends  to  ab- 
solve Nennius  from  the  charge  of  imposture  in  appropriating  the 
labours  of  another;  for  the  mode  of  proceeding  with  this  book  seems 

D  2  to 


20 


to  have  been  understood.  In  his  Apology  he  speaks  of  his  own 
work  or  publication,  as  being  one,  "  quod  multi  doctores  atque  libra- 
rii  scribere  tentaverint,"  authors  and  transcribers  classed  together; 
and  complains,  that  "  ncscio  quo  pacto  difficilius  rcliquerint,"  each 
transcribing  doctor  leaving  it  less  intelligible  than  he  found  it;  which 
misfortune  he  ascribes  to  frequent  wars  and  pestilences,  instead  of 
the  more  proximate  cause,  viz.:  the  accumulated  blunders  of  ill- 
instructed  men.  He  apologizes  for  presuming  "  post  tantos  haec  tanta 
scribere,"  and  he  can  scarcely  apply  the  words  "  post  tantos"  gene- 
rally to  the  historians  of  Britain,  for  he  had  complained  that  there  were 
next  to  none;  but  the  "/<o?c  tanta"  is  to  be  taken  literally  for  the  very 
book  in  hand.  In  his  concluding  chapter  he  mentions  his  omission 
(at  Beulan's  suggestion)  to  write  the  Saxon  genealogies,  seemingly  of 
earlier  date  than  his  own,  "  nolui  ea  scribere,"  adding,  "  but  I  have 
written  of  the  cities  and  remarkable  things  of  Britain,  as  other  writers 
wrote  before  me."  The  same  observations  apply  to  this  passage. 
Lastly,  when  he  says  of  a  Trojan  genealogy",  "hscc  genealogia  non 
est  scripta  in  aliquo  volnnnw>  Britannia?,  sed  in  scriptione  .  .  scrip- 
toris  fait,"  he  clearly  means  "  in  any  previous  copy  or  edition  of  this 
hook  of  Britain;'  and  in  fact  it  is  absent  from  the  text  of  Marcus. 
The  Irish  version  now  published,  is  actually  entitled,  in  the  Books  of 
Lecan  and  Hy-Many,  "  Leabhar  Breathnach,"  i.  e.  Volumen  Britanni- 
cum,  or  Book  of  Britain.  The  vast  avidity  with  which  Geoffrey  of 
Monmouth  was  received  by  the  world  prevents  our  wondering  that 
transcripts  of  this  book  had  been  multiplied  within  about  thirty-six 
years,  as  seems  to  have  been  the  case. 

This  condition  of  affairs  offers  a  great  excuse  for  our  Irish  trans- 
lator, if  he  be  found  to  introduce  many  things  illustrative  of  British 
history,  that  were  not  in  any  transcript  of  the  Latin  book  from 

which 
*  Cod.  Bened.  in  Gale,  Var.  Lect.  p.  119. 


21 


which  he  professes  to  take  his  own,  or  as  Nennius  hath  it,  "in  aliquo 
volumine  Britannia."     It  were  indeed  more  hard  to  excuse  him,  for 
o-ivin- expressly  "as  recorded  by  Nennius"  certain  details  of  Insr 
history  which  Nennius  did  not  record,  but  for  the  great  likelihood 
that  the  same  thing  happened  in  Ireland  as  in  Britain,  viz.:  that  tile- 
successive  editorial  transcribers  of  the  Irish  Nennius  inserted  words 
of  their  own.     In  which  case,  that  false  heading  may  not  have  been 
the  work  of  any  man  who  knew  it  to  be  false.  There  is  some  reason 
to  think,  that  the  Irish  translation  was  made  by  a  certain  Guanach, 
and  that  the  text,  as  now  printed,  was  revised  by  a  later  hand.     For 
after  a  translation  of  considerable  closeness  and  fidelity  from  Nennius, 
it  is  written,  "  it  was  in  this  way  that  our  noble  elder  Guanach  de- 
duced the  pedigree  of  the  Britons,  from  the  chronicles  of  the  Romans.' 
Infra,  p.  37.  But  a  work,  actually  commencing  with  the  words  " 
Nemnius  [Nennius]  Elvodugi  discipulus,"  could  never  mean  to  rob  that 
author  of  his  matter,  and  falsely  ascribe  it  to  a  certain  Guanach. 
is,  therefore,  apparent  that  Guanach  was  either  the  Irish  translator, 
or  an  editor  of  the  translation;  and  that  this  annotation  proceeds 
from  an  editor  of  junior  date  and  calling  him  his  elder5'.    The  "  chro- 
nicles of  the  Romans,"  employed  by  Guanach,  are  nothing  more  than 
the  Latin  copies  of  the  Historia  Britonum  ;  which  is  stated  by  Nen- 
nius himself  (in  the  Irish  translation,  as  well  as  in  the  original,  of  his 
Apologia)  to  be  partly  collected  from  the  Annals  of  the  Romans  and 
the  Chronicles  of  the  Saints.     The  earliest  MS.  of  the  Irish  Nennius, 
so  far  as  is  known  to  its  editor,  is  of  the  twelfth  century.     But  the 

epoch 

>  According  to  O'Reilly  (Irish  writers,  later.     This  would  furnish  increased  evi- 

p    120)  there  is  a  memorandum  prefixed  dcncc  to  the  employment  , 

to  the  copy  of  the  Leabhar  Breatlmacli,  in  and  succession  of  hands. 

the  Book  of  Hy-Many,  which  says  that  Ily-Many  has  passed  into   the  hands 

Nennius    was    the    author,     and    Giolla  some  private  collector,  and 

Caoimhghin  (who  died  in  1072)  the  trans-  accessible.— (T.) 


22 


epoch  of  the  translation  does  not  seem  to  transpire  from  any  internal 
evidence. 

A.  H. 


P.  S. — A  partial  elucidation  of  the  very  obscure  verses  in  page  i  o 
is  due  to  the  kindness  and  ingenuity  of  the  Rev.  S.  R.  Maitland,  who 
observes  that  the  last  line,  if  we  read  it  "  En  vocatur  Ben  notis  litteris 
nominis  quinis"  not  qidn'i'-,  will  apply  to  the  name  Benlanus  (though 
not  to  Beulanus),  which  spelling  is  mentioned  in  Fabricius,  and  that 
of  Benlanius  in  Pitseus.  For  Benlanus,  understanding  (notis,  i.  e. 
subintellectis)  the  other  five  letters,  lanus,  will  leave  Ben  ;  or,  by 
changing  notis  to  motis,  i.  e.  removed,  tlie  sense  becomes  more  ex- 
plicit. Indeed  the  MS.,  which  has  Beulani  plainly  written  in  red 
ink,  has  another  u  written  above  in  black  ink,  and  the  red  u  scored 
under  with  black;  which  shows  that  attention  had  been  attracted  to 
the  first  syllable  of  the  name.  Benllan  signifies  Caput  Ecclesias.  Mr. 
Maitland  thinks  that  magni  in  the  second  line  had  its  origin  in  magri, 
the  contraction  of  magistri.  And  also  that  the  inexplicable  word 
fornifer  should  be  formiter,  i.  e.  "  recte,  secundum  formam  vel  legem." 
Du  Cange.  Upon  the  whole,  a  more  obscure  and  enigmatical  com- 
position will  scarcely  be  met  vith. 

A.  H. 

i  1 

'  It  is  written  in  the  MS.  qni ;  and  trinis,  tnis. 


bReadmach  QNNSO  sis. 


Leabhan  bReadwach  QNNSO  sis. 


qua  ejrceppca  pcpipepe   cupauai 


Dipcipulup   nli- 
.1.  po  oeichmjep 


jo  pa  pjjpibaino   apaile  DO  lamapca,  -j   me  Nenam- 
mp    Dip^ibail    GluDaig,  ^015  po    oepmaio    heap  -\    aimeajna    in 

ceneoil 

the  chronicles  of  the  holy  Fathers  [that 
is,  Jerome,  Eusebius,  Isidore,  Prosper,  in- 
terpol.  in  some  MSS.],  and  from  the  wri- 
tings of  the  Scots  and  Angles,  and  from 
the  traditions  of  our  own  ancestors  (ve- 
tcnnn);  which  thing  (quod)  many  doctors 
and  scribes  have  attempted  to  write,  but 
have  left  more  difficult  ;  I  know  not 
wherefore,  unless  it  be  on  account  of  the 
frequent  mortalities  and  continual  disas- 
ters of  war.  I  beg  that  every  reader,  who 
reads  this  book,  will  forgive  me,  that  I 
have  ventured  to  write  such  considerable 
things  as  these  after  such  considerable  per- 
sons, like  a  chattering  bird,  or  like  some 
incompetent  judge  (invalidits  arbiter).  I 
defer  to  him,  who  may  know  more  in  this 
branch  of  knowledge  than  I  do."  That 


a  Liber  Brittanicus.  —  ^eabap  ftpernac, 
"  the  British  Book;"  this  title  is  given  to 
the  following  work  in  the  Books  of  Lccan 
and  Hy-Many.  The  initial  words,  €r^o 
Nemniup  Gloougi,  are  a  fac-simile  from 
the  Book  of  Lecan  —  (7'.) 

''  Ego  Nennius,  <J-c.  Numnus,  D.,  NVim- 
nus,  B.,  Nemonus,  D.,  a  secimda  manu.  — 
(T.)  The  following  are  the  true  words 
of  the  Apologia  Nennii  :  "I  Nennius,  a 
disciple  of  St.  Elbod,  have  taken  the 
pains  to  write  certain  extracts,  which  the 
dulness  of  the  British  nation  had  cast 
aside,  because  the  doctors  of  the  island 
Britannia  had  no  skill,  and  did  not  place 
any  commemoration  in  books.  But  I  have 
collected  all  that  I  could  find,  as  well  out 
of  the  Annals  of  the  Romans,  as  out  of 


LIBER  BRITANNICUS3 


GO  Nemnius"  Elvodugic  discipulus,  aliqua"  excerp- 
tae  scribere  curavi,  i.  e.  I  have  taken  painsf  to  write 
certain  fragments,  and  I  am  NenamnisE  a  disciple 
of  Eludachh,  because  the  folly  and  ignorance'  of 
the  nation  of  Britannia  have  given  to  oblivion  the 
history  and  origin  of  its  first  people,  so  that  they 


veterum  means  ancients  or  ancestors,  not 
aged  men,  appears  from  cap.  13,  Gale  and 
Bertram,  1 7  Stevenson.  I  conceive  inva- 
lidus  arbiter  to  mean  a  judge,  acting  with- 
out the  limits  of  his  jurisdiction (77.) 

0  Ekodugi — Elodugi  L.  See  the  In- 
troductory Remarks,  p.  6 (T.) 

d  Aliqua — dilia,  D.,  for  alia  ;  Irish 
scribes  frequently  write  Latin  words  in 
conformity  with  the  rule  of  Irish  ortho- 
graphy called  Caol  le  caol,  agu^  leacan 
le  learan ;  of  this  we  have  another  ex- 
ample here  in  the  word  cupauai  for 
curavi. — (T.) 

*Excerpta — Oipcepca,  L.,  t)ipceppra, 


are 

f  7  have  taken  pains.— tDeicionijiupa, 
B.,  Oeichecoijepa,  L.,  from  Oeirioe, 
care,  diligence. — (T.) 

8  Nenamnis Nemnuy,  B.    The  Book 

of  Lecan  does  not  give  the  name  in  thi.s 
place (T.) 

h  Eludach,  or  Eludag.  Gulooaj,  B. 
Depabul  aile  pooaij,  L. — (T.) 

'  Folly and ignorance — 6eap  ajuf  aenec, 
B.,  where  aenec  is  probably  for  cunpeich 
or  ameolac,  ignorance.  6ap  ajup  ejna, 
the  habit  and  knowledge,  D.  The  Latin 
copies  read  "  quae  hebetude  gentis  Brit- 
tannias,"  &c.  The  reading  in  the  text  is 
from  L._ (T.) 


IRISH  ARCH.  SOC.  NO.   1 6. 


26 


ceneoil  bpeacaima  peancapa  -\  bunaoana  na  cecbame  cona  pilic 
[i  popaicme]  a  pgpibanoaib  nac  a  lebpaib.  TTleppe  imoppo,  po 
comcinoilipa  na  pencapa  puapapa  in  analcaib  na  T?oman,  ap  na 
cponicib  na  ppuiche  noeb  .1.  Qppmoip  -|  Cipme  -|  Gapebn,  in  anal- 
caib Sajcan  ~\  ^aeoil,  -|  ma  puapap  o  cmnocol  ap  n-appa  pein. 

II.  bpicoma  inpola  a  bpicinia  pilio  Ipocon  oicca  epc  .1.  o 
bpican  pacep  imp  bpecan,  no  acbepaio  apaile  gomao  o'n  ci  ap 
bpucap  no  pacea  .1.  an  ceo  conpal  po  bai  a  l?omancaib.  Qlbion 
imoppo  po  b'e  ceo  amm  inbpi  bpeacan.  Ochc  cet>  mile  cement)  poc 
inopi  bpeacan.  Oa  cet>  mile  cemino  ma  lecec.  Ochc  ppim-cach- 
paca  .pp.  inoce,  -|  ace  anopo  a  n-anmant>a  [DO  peip  eolach  bpecan]. 

Caep 


J  Commemorated. — Q  popmchmeach, 
L.  Omitted  in  D.  "  Ncquc  ullam  coiu- 
memorationem  in  libris  posuerunt.'' — (T.) 

k  Brought  together Comchintol,  L., 

Coimcinoiliup,  B.,  "  coacervavi." — (7'.) 

1  Isidore. — Tho  Irish  always  corrupted 
foreign  names.  Thus  Isidore  is  GfUiDip, 
L.,  Cfpumip,  B.  Jerome  is  Cipene,  L., 
Cipine,  B.  (the  C  having  probably  been 
aspirated  to  represent  HieronymMs),  Euse- 
bius  is  Gbpeuiup,  L.,  Gupebiup,  B.  The 
readings  of  I)  are  given  in  the  text.  The 
Latin  adds  Prog])er,  who  is  not  mentioned 
in  any  of  the  Irish  copies (7'.) 

m  Gaels — It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  La- 
tin word  Scoti  or  Scotti,  is  uniformly  trans- 
lated J)ae6il',  Gadclii  or  Gaels,  throughout 
this  work,  ^a*^1^  is  the  name  by  which 
the  Irish  and  Highlanders  of  Scotland  de- 
signate themselves  to  the  present  day. 
The  Welch  also  call  themselves  Gwydhil, 
and  their  country  Tir  Gwydhil — (T.) 


"  Tradition The  word  nonocol  is 

here  evidently  used  to  represent  the  Latin 
"  ex  traditione  veterum  nostrorum."  It 
signifies,  conveyance,  handing  down  from 
one  to  another,  tradition ;  the  verb  ciob- 
nacaim,  to  deliver,  is  in  use  in  modern 
Irish.  Q  h-analcaib  ^aeioel  puapup  o 
chionocol  h-e  inp  n-appanoaib,  L.  Ocup 
inn  puapup  o  rionacul  ap  n-appuca,  B. 
-(T.) 

0  Britonia  insola. — This  section  is  re- 
peated twice  in  L.  first  at  the  beginning, 
and  again  near  the  end ;  the  readings  of  the 
former  of  these  copies  will  be  denoted  by 
L'.  those  of  the  second  by  L2.  The  second 
alone  contains  the  list  of  cities. — (T.) 

p  A  Britinia Omitted  L1. ;  a  6perone, 

L2. ;  a  6picone,  B (T.) 

q  Dicta  est.  —  t)acanca,  1).,  the  Irish 
equivalent  word  put  instead  of  the  Latin. 
—(T.) 

1  Or  some  say  ....   named. — Omitted, 


are  not  commemoratedj  in  writings  nor  in  books.  But  I  have 
brought  together"  the  histories  that  I  found  in  the  Annals  of  the 
Romans,  out  of  the  chronicles  of  the  learned  saints,  viz.:  Isidore1, 
and  Jerome,  and  Euscbius,  in  the  Annals  of  the  Saxons  and  Gaels™, 
and  what  I  discovered  from  the  tradition"  of  our  own  old  men. 

II.  Britonia  insola0  a  Britinia"  filio  Isocon  dicta  estq,  i.  e.  the 
island  of  Britain  is  named  from  Britan,  or  some  say  that  it  was  from 
one  Brutus  it  was  namedr,  i.  e.  the  first  consul5  that  was  of  the  Ro- 
mans; but  Albion'  was  the  first  name  of  the  island  of  Britain.  Eight 
hundred  thousand  paces  is  the  length"  of  the  island  of  Britain.  Two 
hundred  thousand  paces  is  its  breadth.  Eight  and  twenty  principal 
caers  [or  cities]  are  in  it;  and  these  following7  are  their  names,  ac- 


cording to  the  learned  of  Britain"  :— 


B.  L2.  No  uobepcuo  apoile  ip  o  6picup 
po  h-ammnijeat),  L'.  The  name  of 
Britain  is  here  derived  from  Brutus  the 
first  Roman  consul;  but  in  another  part 
of  this  work  it  is  said  to  have  been  de- 
rived from  Brutus,  son  of  Silvius,  son  of 

Ascanius,  son  of  ./Eneas (2'.) 

8  The  first  consul — First  is  omitted  in 
all  the  Latin  copies,  and  rightly.  For  L. 
Junius  Brutus  is  not  here  alluded  to ;  and 
consul  is  said,  in  a  general  way,  for  a  per- 
son of  power  and  dignity.  See  Mr.  Gunn's 
note  vi.  p.  94,  &c. ;  Du  Cange  in  Consul  and 
Consulatus;  Galfrid.  Monumet.  i.  cap.  13, 
x.  cap.  4,  &c.  Marcus  Anachoreta,  p.  80. 
Tywysawg  appears  to  be  the  British  equi- 
valent; Bruttus  Tywysawg  o  Ruvein; 
Hanes  Grufudd  ab  Cynan,  p.  584.  The 
fable  of  Brute  the  Trojan  was  not  devoid 
of  a  slight  foundation  in  the  Eoman  tra- 


Caer-Gortigeru. 

ditions ;  for  Junius  Brutus  was  descended 
from  a  Trojan  who  accompanied  ^Eneas; 
but  the  name  Junius,  rather  than  the 
surname  Brutus,  was  Trojan.  See  Dion. 
Hal.  Ant.  iv.  cap.  68.— (//.) 

'  Albion — This  name  does  not  occur  in 
any  of  the  Latin  editions.  It  is  not  of 
Latin  origin,  and  has  no  reference  to  the 
Latin  word  albus ;  nor  is  its  origin  and 
meaning  known.  It  does  not  appear  that 
the  Greek  geographers  gave  any  explana- 
tion of  their  word  'Ahovtav. — (//.) 

u  Eight  hundred the  length. — 

Omitted,  B.  L-.  Cemeno  omitted  B.  L1.  L-. 
-(T.) 

T  These  following — lp  mo  po  pip,  B.  L*. 
(T.) 

w  According  to  the  learned  of  Britain. — 
This  clause  occurs  only  in  L2.  B.  adds 
here,  cecup — (T.) 


E  2 


28 


Caep  ^opcigeprm.  Caep  ^purup.  Caep  TTlencepc.  Caep 
Luill.  Caep  TTleDjuiD.  Caep  Colun.  Caep  ^upoipr.  Caep 
Qbpog.  Caep  Capaooj.  Caep  bpur.  Caep  TTlacoo.  Caep  Cu- 
namo.  Caep  Oen.  Caep  Ipangm.  Caep  pheup.  Caep  Oon.  Caep 
Lonmopepuipc.  Caep  ^pujan.  Caep  Sane.  Caep  Lejun.  Caep 
^niDiuo.  Caep  bpeacan.  Caep  Leipinoin.  Caep  penopa.  Caep 
Opuichjolgoo.  Caep  Luicicoir.  Caep  Upnochc.  Caep  Gilimon. 

III.  Ipic  imoa  a  cachpaca  jenmoca  pin,  [oiapmeoe  a  para 
1  a  caipcel  cumacca].  Ceichpi  ceinela  aiccpeabaio  imp  bpearari, 
.1.  J5aeoil  ~\  Cpuichnig  -\  bpeacnaij  ~\  Bahrain.  Inopi  5ura  I1ia 
aneap,  Gbonia  amap  erappu  -|  6ipe  .1.  TTlanaino,  -]  inopi  Opcc 
pia  acuaio.  [Ctpcnaio  h-6pe  peac  imp  bpeacan  piap  oeap  co 


x  Caer-Gortigern. — The  names  of  the 
cities  are  given  in  B.  thus  :  C.  Guirthir- 
girnd.  C.  Gutais,  C.  Luaill,  C.  Meguaid, 
C.  Colon,  C.  Gustint,  C.  Abroc,  C.  Cara- 
toc,  C.  Graat,  C.  Machuit,  C.  Ludain,  C. 
Ceisi,  C.  Giraigon,  C.  Pheus,  C.  Miucip, 
C.  Leoinarphuisc,  C.  Grucon,  C.  Sent,  C. 
Leigion,  C.  Guent,  C.  Breatan,  C.  Lerion, 
C.  Punsa,  C.  Gluteolcoit,  C.  Luitcoit,  C. 
Urtaeh,  C.  Celhneno.  The  names,  as 
given  in  LJ,  are  C.  Gorthigearnd,  C. 
Gutais,  C.  Luaill,  C.  Meaenaid,  C.  Cholou, 
C.  Gustaint,  C.  Abrog,  C.  Charadoc,  C. 
Graad,  C.  Macaid,  C.  Lugain,  C.  Cose,  C. 
Girangon,  C.  Peus,  C.  Minchip,  C.  Lco- 
anaird  puisc,  C.  Grugoin,  C.  Sent,  C. 
Legion,  C.  Guhent,  C.  Bretan,  C.  Ler- 
gum,  C.  Pennsa,  C.  Druithecolcoit,  Luite- 
oit,  C.  Urtocht,  C.  Ceilimon.  Most  of 
these  variations  are  doubtless  attributable 
to  error  or  ignorance  in  the  transcribers, 


poca. 

but  they  are  worth  preserving,  as  it  is 
possible  sometimes,  even  from  a  blunder,  to 
obtain  a  clue  to  the  true  orthography — ( 7".) 
The  twenty-eight  caers  do  not  occur 
till  the  close  of  the  Latin  Xennius  ; 
but,  in  the  corresponding  place  of  the 
MS.  of  945,  from  Marcus,  the  names 
of  thirty-three  cities  occur,  p.  46.  As 
Nennius  gives  one  name,  Verulam,  which 
is  not  in  that  copy,  the  latter  must 
have  given  six  which  Nennius  did  not 
receive;  but  the  confusion  of  texts  pre- 
vents my  saying  which  they  were.  Caer 
Gurcoc  and  Caer  Teim  (Thanie?)  were 
two  of  them.  Archbishop  Ussher  has 
commented  upon  this  catalogue  in  his 
Primordia,  pp.  59,  65,  or  33-5  of  edit.  2, 
(Works,  vol.  v.  p.  82).  The  Irish  trans- 
lator has,  in  some  cases,  left  it  difficult  to 
identify  his  names  ;  and,  on  the  other 
haud,  many  of  the  explanations  by  Llwyd, 


29 


Caer-Gortigern*.  Caer-Grutus.  Caer-Mencest.  Caer-Luill.  Caer- 
Medguid.  Caer-Colun.  Caer-Gusdirt.  Caer-Abrog.  Caer-Caradog. 
Caer-Brut.  Caer-Machod.  Caer-Lunaind.  Caer-Oen.  Caer-Irangin. 
Caer-Pheus.  Caer-Loninoperuisc.  Caer-Grugan.  Caer-Sant.  Caer- 
Legun.  Caer-Gnidiud.  CaerrBfeatan.  Caer-Leiridoin.  Caer-Pendsa. 
Caer-Druithgolgod.  Caer-Luiticoit.  Caer-Urnocht.  Caer-Eilimon. 

III.  Numerous  arey  itscaers  [or  cities]  besides  these;  innumerable 
its  raths  [or  forts']  and  its  fortified  castles2.  Four  races  inhabit 
the  island  of  Britain,  viz.:  the  Gaels,  the  Cruithnachs1  [Plots'],  the 
Britons,  and  the  Saxons.  The  island  Guta"  is  to  the  south  of  it; 
Aboniac,  i.  e.  Manaind,  is  on  the  west  between  them  and  Eri  [Ireland] ; 
and  the  islands  of  Orck  are  to  the  north  of  it.  Eri  extends  beyond 

the 

is  sometimes  used  to  denote  a  mound  or 
hill,  and  therefore  may  have  signified  also 
a  fort  of  the  ordinary  kind.  See  I)u 
Cange,  in  voce — (  T.) 

a  The   Cruitlmachs The    well-known 

Irish  name  for  the  Picts  or  ancient  in- 
habitants of  Scotland.  Duald  Mac  Firbis 
considers  the  word  as  synonymous  with 
the  Latin  Pictus.  See  Additional  Xotus, 


Camden,  Ussher,  and  earlier  authors,  are 

light  and  vague  conjectures (77.)  See 

Additional  Notes,  No.  I. 

'  Numerous  are. — Ipic  (or  Ipao,  B.  L*.), 
a  synthetic  union  of  the  assertive  verb, 
if,  it  is,  and  iao  or  lac,  they.  See  O'Dono- 
van's  Irish  Grammar,  p.  161 — (T.) 

z  Innumerable castles.  —  This 

clause  is  inserted  from  B.  L2.  L2.  reads 
ocup  po  bo  oiaipmichi  a  pacha,  &c.  The 
Latin  reads:  "In  ea  sunt  viginti  octo  ci- 
vitates  et  innumerabilia  promontoria,  cum 
innumeris  castellis  ex  lapidibus  ct  latere 
fabricatis."  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that 
the  Irish  translator  understood  promon- 
toria to  mean  raths  or  forts ;  for  nothing 
was  more  common  than  to  convert  a  pro- 
montory into  a  fort,  by  casting  up  an  in- 
trenchment  across  the  narrow  neck  that 
united  it  to  the  main  land.  The  remains 
of  many  such  are  still  to  be  seen  in  Ire- 
land. The  word  promontorium,  however, 


No.  II.— (T.} 

b  Guta. — 

— (T.)  Guta  is  the  Isle  of  Wight,  in  La- 
tin Vectis  or  Vecta,  in  Welch  Gwyth.  The 
Latin  Nennius  says,  "Gueid  vel  Guith, 
quod  Latine  divortium  dici  potest."  How- 
ever Ynys  Gwyth  is  simply  the  Channel 
Island.  "  Three  principal  islands  are 
united  to  Ynys  Prydain,  Ore,  Manaw,  and 
Gwyth."  Triads,  3rd  series,  No.  67.— (//.) 

0  Abonia. — 6bon  Hlania,  B.  6boniu, 
L.  The  Isle  of  Man — (T.)  See  Additional 
Notes,  No.  III. 


3° 

poca.     benaio   imoppo  imp  bperan  peac  h-Gpinn  paep-cuaitt  co 

cian]. 

Oiaipmire  [ono]  a  locha  [ajup  a  ppoca.]  Da  ppim-ppurh  inoci 
.1.  Uamup  i  SabpainO;  ip  poppa-paioein  peolaio  lonja  -]  bapca 
inpi  bpearan  [co  peoaib  •)  50  mainib  mope  bpeacan  uile]. 

17o  linpac  bpeacam  in  n-inpi  uile  ap  cup  t»ia  clanaib,  o  muip 
n-lchc  co  muip  n-Opc  [-)  po  allaO  -|  aippoepcop.] 

IV.  lap  n-t>ilmt>  cpa    Da    panoao  in  ooman  a   cpi    [it>ip   rpi 

maccu 

d  But  the  island north  east.— This 

passage  is  inserted  from  B.  L.  The  verb 
benaio  signifies  to  draw  out,  to  prolong. 
O'Reilly  (Diet.  v.  becmaim)  quotes  a  pas- 
sage from  the  Leabhar  Mac  Partholain, 
in  which  the  word  is  applied  to  drawing 
a  sword. — (T.) 

e  And  its  rivers — Inserted  from  B.  L. 
as  is  also  the  expletive  particle  bno,  vero, 
autem — (T.) 

f  Sabraind — The  Sabrina  or  Severn. 
King  Locrine  (saith  the  Galfridian  Chron- 
icle) deserting  his  wife  Gwenddolen,  took 
a  concubine,  Estrildis,  by  whom  he  had 
a  daughter,  Sabrina.  But  Gwenddolen, 
levying  war  against  her  husband,  slew 
him,  and  flung  the  two  ladies  into  the 
river;  the  younger  of  whom  bequeath- 
ed to  it  her  name.  Lib.  ii.  cap.  5.  But 
Havren  (the  name  of  Sabrina  and  of  the 
Severn)  signifies  «  harlot ;  and  therefore 
cannot  refer  to  the  innocent  daughter, 
but  relates  to  Estrildis  herself.  This 
renders  it  probable  (as  Mr.  Carte  suspect- 


cd)  that  the  fable,  in  its  existing  shape, 
was  composed  in  Armorica ;  where  the 
word  havren  does  not  seem  to  be  known. 


The  real  etymology  of  the  Sabriana  or 
Sabrina,  Celtice  Havren,  is,  no  doubt,  from 
hav,  (Irish,  parh  or  r-ariipa)  summer; 
part  of  the  adjoining  country  being 
called  the  Gwlad  yr  I  lav,  or  Land  of 
the  Summer,  Anglice  Summersetshire. 
This  passage  of  the  Historia  is  taken 
from  the  words  of  Gildas  in  cap.  I,  in- 
cluding that  melancholy  word  which  is 
omitted  in  the  Irish,  "  per  qua;  olim  rates 
vehebantur,"  &c.—(H.) 

8  Upon  them Ip  F°PPu-riDeln>  B.     lp 

popo-paioe,  L.  "  It  is  upon  these  very 
rivers."  The  emphatic  pence  in  or  poem, 
gives  an  additional  force,  "  upon  the  self- 
fame  rivers."  The  word  is  not  be  to  found 
in  the  common  dictionaries,  but  it  is  the 
ancient  form  of  pean  or  pan.  Poppa-pioein 
would  be  written,  in  the  modern  Irish 
language,  oppa-pan. — (T.) 

h  With  the  jewels Britain. — 

This  clause  is  added  from  B.  L.  The  word 
uile  occurs  only  in  L.  The  Latin  copies 
read  "  per  qua?  olim  rates  vehebantur  ad 
portandas  divitias  pro  causa  navigations. " 
-(T.) 


31 


the  island  of  Britain  far  to  the  south-west.  But  the  island  of  Britain 
extends  beyond  Eri  far  to  the  north-east11. 

Innumerable  are  its  lochs  and  its  riverse.  Two  principal  rivers 
are  in  it,  viz. :  Tamus  and  Sabraindf ;  it  is  upon  themg  that  the  ships 
and  barks  of  the  island  of  Britain  sail,  with  the  jewels  and  wealth  of 
the  whole  island  of  Britain11. 

The  Britons  at  first  filled  the  whole  island  with  their  children, 
from  the  sea  of  Icht1  to  the  sea  of  Orck,  both  with  glory  and  excel- 
lency'. 

IV.  Now  after  the  deluge  the  world  was  divided"  into  three 

parts ; 


1  From  the  sea  of  Icht,  Sfc. — Understand 
from  tlio  British  channel,  or  sea  of  the 
Portus  Iccius  or  Itius,  to  that  of  Orkney. 
"  Dathi  went  afterwards,  with  the  men  of 
Erin,  across  Muir  n-Icht  (sea  of  Icht)  to- 
wards Leatha  (Britanny),"  &c.. — Gene- 
alogies, fyc.  of  Ily-Fiachrach,  p.  19.  So  in 
the  Duan  Albanach,  verse  10,  (Pinker- 
ton's  Inquiry,  ii.  321),  "Britus  tar  mhuir 
n'Icht."  Where  Adamnan  speaks  of  St. 
Germann's  crossing  the  Sinus  Vallicus 
(Channel  of  Gaul)  to  visit  Britain,  he 
gives  a  Latin  equivalent.  Vita  Columb. 
ii.  cap.  34.  The  Portus  Iccius  has  been 
confounded  with  Calais  and  Boulogne; 
but  is  now  conjectured  to  be  the  same  as 
Vissent  or  Witsant,  a  neighbouring  vil- 
lage. Some  of  the  Latin  copies  have  it, 
"  from  Totness  to  Caithness,"  but  others 
have  no  termini  assigned. — (H.) 

J  With  glory  and  excellency. — This  pas- 
sage is  inserted  from  L (T.) 

k  Was  divided. — Ro  panoab,  B.  L.  In 
the  text  oa  or  DO,  as  it  is  often  spelt, 


is  used  for  po — (T.)  This  chapter  is 
made  up  from  chapters  13  and  14  of  the 
old  Latin  editions,  at  pp.  53-4,  of  the 
Marcian.  The  three  sons  of  Alanus  are, 
Hisicion,  Armenon,  and  Neugio  or  Neg- 
no.  The  former  is  probably  Tuiscon, 
father  of  Mannus,  from  whom  all  the 
Germans  derived  themselves.  Tacit.  Germ, 
cap.  2.  For  he  is  said  to  be  father  of 
Francus  and  Alamannus ;  for  which  latter 
our  translator  has  improperly  put  Albaims. 
Armenon  relates  to  Armenia;  Negno  or 
Neugio  (here  Negua),  from  whom  he  de- 
rives the  Saxons,  to  I  know  not  what. 
It  is  scarcely  worth  while  to  mention  the 
Rugii.  Cibidus  or  Cebidus  (here  Cebetus) 
to  the  Gepidffi.  Walagothus  (here  Uile- 
gotus)  either  to  the  Balti  or  Amali  (Vi- 
sigoths or  Ostrogoths),  but  nothing  indi- 
cates to  which.  In  the  genealogy  from 
Alanus  to  Lamech,  inclusively,  the  Latin 
copies  give  twenty  names,  and  the  Irish 
only  sixteen ;  but  it  is  useless  to  supply 
such  mere  gibberish. — (//.) 


32 

maccu  Nae]  .1.  Gopaip  -|  Qpppaic  -]  Qppia.  Sem  an  n-Qpia.  Cam 
an  Qppjiaic.  laperh  an  Ojiaip.  Ipe  cec  peap  Do  pil  lapech  caimc 
[ap  cup]  in  n-6opaip  .1.  Qlanuip  co  n-a  cpi  macaib  .1.  Ipacon  -| 
[^ochup  no]  Qpmion  ~\  Negua.  Ceichpi  meic  05  Ipacon  .1.  Ppan- 
cup,  Pomanup,  bpicup,  Qlbanup.  Ctpmon  [umoppo]  .u.  meic  laip, 
^ocup,  Uilejocup,  Cebecup,  bupganDup,  Lon^obapDup.  -Cpi 
meic  Negua,  Uanoalup,  Sa^o,  [boapup.  Sa^o  mac  Nejua  ip  uaoa 
acaio  Sa^rain].  bpicup,  imoppo,  ip  uaD  bpeacam,  mac  paiDein 
Ipacoin,  [mic  Qlani],  mic  pecliuip,  mic  Ogamain,  mic  Uai,  mic 
buiob,  mic  Semoib,  mic  Qracc,  mic  Qoch,  mic  Qbaip,  mic  Roa, 
mic  Qppa,  mic  lobaich,  [mic  loban],  mic  laperh,  mic  Nae,  [mic 
Laimiach]  Ip  amlaio  pin  ac  piaoap  a  peancapaib  bpearan. 

V.   Innipoap    imoppo  a    n-analcaib   na   Romanach.      Cteniap 
mac  Qnacip  DO  ciachcam  lap  co  jail  Cpai  co  h-6acail,  i  cnjapoaip 

Lauina 


1  Beticeen (ifNoe. — Inserted  from 

B.  I,.— (?'.) 

m  At  the  beginning. — Inserted  from  L1. 
where  the  words  are  in  a  different  order : 
Ceo  peup  chanic  in  n-Gopaip  ap  cup  t>o 
pil  lapeo.  In  B.  the  clause  ap  cup  t>o  pil 
lupeo  is  omitted.  There  are  two  copies 
of  this  section  in  L.,  both  very  corrupt. 
-(T.) 

n  Got/tus  or  Arm/on. — The  words  J^o- 
cluip  no  are  inserted  from  L'.  CIpmenon, 
B.  Qpmen,  L1.  Qpmeon,  L'-. — (T.) 

0  Noic.  —  Umoppo,  inserted  from  B. 
L1.  IA— (T.) 

P  Burgantus — 6up^anoup,  B.  L'.  L2. 
Pungandtus  in  D.  is  evidently  an  error  of 
the  scribe  for  Burgandtus.  The  Latin 
copies  of  Nennius  ?v&&.Burgoandus (T.) 

q  Bnarus descended.     This 


clause  is  inserted  from  B.  L1.  LV  Its 
omission  in  I),  is  an  evident  error  of  the 
scribe. — ( 7'.) 

'  He  is   the   son   of  Isacon Saibem 

is  for  pin  or  6  pen,  which  signifies  he. 
The  insertions  between  brackets  in  the 
Irish  text  are  from  B.  and  L.  loban, 
son  of  Japheth,  occurs  in  B.  L'.  and  L2., 
but  Jobaith  is  omitted.  In  the  Latin 
copies  Semoib  is  called  Simeon,  and  Mair 
is  inserted  between  him  and  Aurthach, 
who  is  evidently  the  same  as  Athact  (or 
Ethacht,  B.  L1.  or  Echtacht,  L2)  in  the 
Irish  copies,  whose  name  is  written  Etka 
in  some  MSS.  of  the  Latin.  Between 
Asra,  or  Ezra,  and  lobaath,  the  Latin 
copies  insert  Izrau  and  Baath,  which  are 
most  probably  corrupt  repetitions  of  Ezra 
and  Jobaath. — (T.) 


33 

parts;  between  the  three  sons  of  Noe1,  viz.:  Eoraip,  Affraic,  and 
Asia.  Sem  was  in  Asia;  Cam  in  Affraic;  Jafeth  in  Eoraip.  The 
first  man  of  the  race  of  Jafeth  that  came  into  Eoraip  at  the  beginning"1 
was  Alanius,  with  his  three  sons;  viz.:  Isacon,  Gothus  or  Armion", 
and  Negua.  Isacon  had  four  sons,  Francus,  Romanus,  Britus,  Al- 
banus.  Now0  Armion  had  five  sons,  Gotas,  Uilegotas,  Cebetus, 
Burgandus",  Longobardus.  Negua  had  three  sons,  Vandalus,  Saxo, 
Boarus.  It  is  from  Saxo,  son  of  Negua,  that  the  Saxons  are  de- 
scended* ;  but  it  is  from  Britus  the  Britons  come.  He  is  the  son  of 
Isaconr,  the  son  of  Alanius,  the  son  of  Fethuir,  the  son  of  Ogaman, 
the  son  of  Tai,  son  of  Boidhbh,  son  of  Semoibh,  son  of  Athacht,  son 
of  Aoth,  son  of  Abar,  son  of  Raa,  son  of  Asra,  son  of  lobaith,  son  of 
loban,  son  of  Japeth,  son  of  Noe,  son  of  Laimiach.  Thus  it  is  re- 
corded in  the  histories  of  Britain8. 

V.  Furthermore'  it  is  related  in  the  Annals  of  the  Romans",  that 
Aenias  the  son  of  Anacis  arrived  in  Italy  after  the  destruction  of 
Troy,  and  took  to  wife  Lavina  the  daughter  of  Ladin,  son  of  Pan,  son 

of 

6  The  histories  of  Britain.  In  the  Latin,  u  Annals  of  the  Romans The  whole  of 

"  Hanc  peritiam  [«/.  genealogiam]  inveni  this  and  the  next  two  chapters  occur  twice 

ex  traditione  veterum,  qui  incolas  in  primo  in  the  Book  of  Lecan ;  the  readings  of  the 

fuerunt  Brittanniae." — (T.)  two  copies  shall  be  referred  to  as  L1.  and 

1  Furthermore — Here  we  revert  to  the  L2.  In  B.  and  L'.  the  reference  to  the 

third  chapter  of  Nennius,  from  which  British  histories  is  separated  from  the 

chaps,  v.,  vi.,  vii.,  above  are  translated.  foregoing  chapter,  and  united  to  this ;  L2. 

Essarc  is  Assaracus,  and  Airic  or  Airic-  reads:  Cib  cpa  uche  ip  amlaio  peo  uc- 

tondus  is  Erichthonius.  Britan  exosus  piaoup  Sencup  6peacan  a  n-anoalaib  nu 

is  that  same  son  of  Silvius  (viz.  Brutus),  Roma.  The  reading  of  D.,  which  is  fol- 

who,  as  the  Druid  had  prophesied,  would  lowed  in  the  text,  agrees  with  the  Latin 

be  "  exosus  omnibus  hominibus."  The  copies,  in  which  the  history  of  ^Eneas  is 

account  in  Marcus,  pp.  48,  50,  is  dif-  begun  thus :  "  In  annalibus  autern  Ko- 

ferent,  and  a  more  obscure  composition —  manorum  sic  scriptum  est.  ./Eneas  post 

(H.)  Trojanum  bellum,"  &c (T.) 

IRISH  ARCH.  SOC.  >7O.   l6.  F 


34 

Lauina  injean  Laom  mic  Puin  mic  PIC  mic  SaDuipnD  -)c.  lap 
mapbaD  UuipnD  ~\  lap  n-ej  Laoin  in  pig  po  gab  Qemap  piji 
LaoianDai,  -]  po  cumDaigeD  in  cachpaig  Qlbalonja  la  h-Qpcan 
mac  Gemapa,  -\  cujapoap  peicig,  "|  pujjapoaip  mac  DO  .1.  Siluiup, 
[po  cecoip]. 

Siluiup  lapDain  cugapoaip  peicij,  -|  po  ba  coppach,  -|  aopec 
DO  Qpcan  bean  a  meic  [DO  beic  coppach,  i.]  alachca,  -|  po  paiD 
ceachca  co  [a]  mac  co  po  paiDiD  a  DpuiD  Do  cabaipc  apDmepa 
ap  a  mnai  co  peapaD  in  po  ba  mac,  no'n  po  ba  h-in^ean  po  ceachc. 
Oo  COID  in  DpuiD,  i  aobepc  [lap  ciaccian]  in  DpuiD  pe  h-Qpcan 
conao  mac  DO  bai  'na  bpoinD;  -|  aDbepc  comao  cpen,  -]  co  muip- 
peao  a  achaip  i  a  machaip,  -j  comao  mipjneach  la  each.  TTlapb 
cpa  a  machaip  Dia  bpeich.  17o  h-ainmmgeaD  pom  .1.  bpicip,  -|  po 
h-aileD  lapoain. 

VI.  6picup  [om]  mac  Silui  mic  Qpcam  mic  Qeniapa  mic 
Qnacip,  mic  Caipen,  mic  Gppcqic,  mic  Upoip,  mic  h-Qipic,  mic 
knip,  mic  Oapoam,  mic  lob,  mic  SapDam,  mic  Ceil,  mic  polloip, 
mic  c\opapcpeip,  mic  TTleppaim,  mic  Cairn,  mic  Mae,  piln  male- 

Dicci  piDenceip  pacpem,  mic  Nae. 

Tpop 

T  Shortly  after Added    from  B.;   L2.  which  is  manifestly  the  true  reading.     In 

reads   (instead  of  pujapocip    nmc  DO  .1.  L'.  and  D.,  the  word  used  to  denote  preg- 

Siluiup),  inoipceap  cop  b'l  machuip  Sell-  nant  is  alucra,   wliipli  in  B.  is  given  as 

biup  po  cheooip (T.)  an  explanation  of  coppac. — (T.) 

w  It  iras  told B.  L'.  and  L9.  read  (in-  y  Druid. — Ncnnius   says,   cup.    3,    "  ut 

stead  of  aopec)  innipcep. — (T.)  mitteret  magum  suum. — (T.) 

x  Was  pregnant. — The  words   oo  beic          *  After  liis  return. — Added  from  B.  L1. 

roppach,  .1.  are  added  from   B.  and   L2.  L'. — (T.) 

The  Latin  copies  read  here  "  nunciatum          a  That  it  leas  a  son. — Cop  bo   mac  po 

est  ^E«ea?,  quod  nurus  sua  gra%ada  es-  bai  ma  bpomo,  L1.  L8.     Ro  boi  mac  po 

set;"  but  one  of  the  MSS.  collated  by  Mr.  boi  in  a  bpoin,  B — (T.) 
Stevenson  has  Ascanio  instead  of  JEnece,          "  Hated  by  all. — Nennius  says,  "  et  erit 

in   conformity    with    the   Irish    version  ;  exosus  omnibus  hominibus." — (T.) 


35 

of  Pic,  son  of  Saturn,  &c.  After  having  slain  Turn,  and  after  the 
death  of  Ladin  the  king,  Aenias  took  the  kingdom  of  Ladianda;  and 
the  city  of  Alba-longa  was  founded  by  Ascan,  son  of  Aenias,  and  he 
married  a  wife,  and  she  bare  him  a  son,  viz.  Silvius,  shortly  afterv. 

.  Silvius  afterwards  married  a  wife,  and  she  became  pregnant,  and 
it  was  toldw  to  Ascan  that  his  son's  wife  was  pregnant* ;  and  he  sent 
a  messenger  to  his  son  to  say  that  he  would  send  his  Druidy  to  give 
an  opinion  on  his  wife,  to  know  whether  it  was  a  son,  or  whether  it 
was  a  daughter  she  was  about  to  bring  forth.  The  Druid  went,  and 
after  his  return2  the  Druid  said  to  Ascan,  that  it  was  a  sona  that  was 
in  her  womb;  and  said  that  he  would  be  powerful,  and  that  he 
would  kill  his  father  and  his  mother,  and  that  he  would  be  hated  by 
allb.  In  fact  his  mother  died  in  giving  him  birth.  He  received  a 
name,  viz.  Britus,  and  afterwards  he  was  nursed0. 

VI.  Nowd  Britus  was  the  son  of  Silvius,  son  of  Ascan,  son  of 
Aenias,  son  of  Anacis,  son  of  Caipen,  'son  of  Essarce,  son  of  Tros, 
son  of  Airic,  son  of  Idus,  son  of  Dardain,  son  of  Jove,  son  of  Sardain, 
son  of  Ceil,  son  of  Polloir,  son  of  Zororastres,  son  of  Mesraim,  son 
of  Cam  (filii  maledicti  ridentis  patrem),  son  of  Noef. 

Moreover, 

c  He  was  nursed. — The  Latin  is,  "  ct  copies  differ  from  each  other  and  from  tlu- 

nutritus  est  filius,  et  vocatum  cst  nomen  Latin.  They  agree,  however,  in  tracing 

ejus  Bruto." — (T.)  the  pedigree  to  Cham  or  Ham,  and  not  to 

ANow — t)m  inserted  from  L'.  t)na,  B.  Japhet,  as  in  the  Latin  copies.  L1.  gives 

t)no,  L2. — (T.)  the  pedigree  thus,  mic  Oipoip,  mic  Gp- 

e  Son  of  Caipen,  son  of  Essarc — These  echconiup,  mic  t)apoain,  mic  loib,  mic 

two  generations,  inserted  between  An-  Shabappn,  mic  Ceil,  mic  pulloip,  mic 

chises  and  Tros  in  all  the  Irish  copies,  do  ^o^cp^o^^a^,  mic  TTleppaim,  mic 

not  occur  in  the  Latin.  Essarc,  is  evi-  Cairn  epcono  mic  Naei  (i.e.  the  accursed 

dently  Assarracus,  and  is  written  Qpapcc,  son  of  Noe),  mic  6aimiach.  L2.  thus: 

B.  Qpaipi5,  L1.  CIpaips,  L2 — (T.)  mic  Chpoip,  mic  Gpeccoiniup,  mic  Dap- 

f  Son  of  Noe — In  the  remainder  of  the  omn,  mic  loib,  mic  Shaouipn,  mic  pheil, 

genealogy  from  Tros  to  Noah,  the  Irish  mic  phulloip,  mic  9vopapoipcpeap,  mi 

F2 


[imoppo]  mac  Ctipicconoup  Da  mac  laip  .1.  Ilium  -| 
Gpapcup;  ip  leip  po  cumOaigeo  Ilium  .1.  Upoi;  ip  oo  po  ba  mac 
Laimiooin,  achaip  Ppiaim.  Qpapc  imoppo  achaip  Capen,  Caipen 
achaip  Qnacip,  Gnacip  achaip  Geniapa,  Geniap  achaip  Gp- 
cain  pen,  achaip  bpicain  e;ropi  .1.  bpicain  mip^nech.  Ip  amlaiD 
pin  cu^apoaip  ap  penoip-ne  uapal  .1.  5uariach>  geimlach  bpeacan 

a  cpomcib  na  17omanac. 

VII. 


TTIeappaun,  rnic  Cairn  eapcoinct,  po 
club  im  a  achaip,  .1.  im  Nae  mac  tai- 
miach  (i.  e.  Cam  the  accursed,  who 
laughed  at  his  father,  i.  e.  at  Noe,  son  of 
Lamech.)  B.  gives  it  thus,  mic  Chopip, 
mic  Gpeccom,  mic  t)apoam,  mic  loib, 
mic  Sacmpb,  mic  pulloip,  mic  Sopap- 
cpep,  mic  nieppaim,  mic  Cam  ejxoinci 
po  bich  imm  [a]  achaip,  .1.  im  Noe, 
mic  ^aimpiuch  ypl.  \Vliere  the  de- 
scription of  Cam  is  the  same  as  in  L2.  for 
bich  is  an  evident  error  of  the  scribe 
for  chib. 

In  D.,  instead  of  the  clause  describing 
the  curse  of  Ham,  which  in  the  other 
copies  is  given  in  Irish,  the  same  thing  is 
given  in  Latin  as  in  the  text.  The  words 
mic  Nae  are  repeated  unnecessarily,  and 
are  therefore  omitted  in  the  translation. 
Mr.  Stevenson  mentions  three  MSS.  of  the 
Latin,  which  have  a  genealogy  of  Brutus 
and  of  Tros  in  the  margin,  and  in  which 
the  genealogy  of  Brutus  is  made  to  end 
thus  :  "  filii  Jupiter  de  genere  Cain 
[Cam?],  filii  maledicti  videntis  et  riden- 
tis  patrem  Noe." 

The  Latin  copies  make  Tros  the  son  of 
Dardanus,  son  of  Flise,  son  of  Juvan,  son 


of  Japhet.  It  will  be  seen,  however,  that 
the  Irish  version  is  more  nearly  authentic, 
for  classical  authorities  make  Tros  the  son 
of  Erichthonius,  son  of  Dardanus,  son  of 
Jupiter,  son  of  Saturn,  son  of  Cffilus.  It 
would  seem  probable  also  that  the  text 
was  corrupted  by  British  transcribers, 
anxious,  for  the  honour  of  their  country, 
to  deduce  the  ancestry  of  Brutus  from  the 
race  of  Japhet  rather  than  from  the  ac- 
cursed Ham.  Pallor,  the  father  of  Ceil 
(who  is  evidently  Coe.ius)  is  probably  a 
corruption  derived  from  the  genitive  case 
ofTellus.— ('/'.) 

8  Moreover Imoppo,  added   from  B., 

L'.and  IA_(7'.) 

h  Airic-tondiiSi  i.e.  Erichthonius;  mac 
€rpecrami,  B. ;  mac  Qipicconmp,  L'.  I,1, 
omits  this  name. — (T.) 

'  Asam/s,  i.e.  Assaracus;  Qpaipic,  L. 
Qpapc,  B.  Homer  gives  Tros  three  sons; 
(Iliad,  v.  230). 

'I'ouia  $'  'Epix0o"'OC  TtKiro  TpwfffJii'  UVIIKTIC 
Tpwof  <V  ait  rp(?t'  vatfitj  a/ii'fiovii;  IZfyivovrn, 
'IXoe  T',  ' AaaapciKoe  rt,  k-ai  dvTi'Osog  ravvfin^lt- 

D.  reads  corruptly  Ham,  both  as  the  name 
of  the  son  of  Tros  and  of  the  city.  B., 
L'.,  and  L2.  read  Ilium  in  both  places, 


37 

Moreover8,  Tros,  son  of  Airictondus",  had  two  sons ;  viz.,  Ilium 
[Ilus]  and  Asarcus';  it  was  by  him  [i  e.  by  Ilus]  was  founded 
Ilium,  i.  e.  Troyj;  he  had  a  son,  Laimidoin,  the  father  of  Priam.  As- 
sarc,  moreover,  teas  the  father  of  Capen,  Capen  was  the  father  of 
Anacis,  Anacis  the  father  of  Aeniask,  Aenias  the  father  of  Ascan,  the 
grandfather  of  Britan  exosus,  i  e.  of  Britan  the  abhorred1.  It  was  in 
this  way  that  our  noble  elder  Guanachm  deduced  the  pedigree  of  the 
Britons,  from  the  Chronicles  of  the  Romans. 


but  IA  instead  of  ir>  leip  po  cumomgeo, 
reads  n-il  ip  e  po  cumoaij.  —  (T.) 

i  Troy  __  Cpop,  H.    Cpoi,  B.  L1.  dpo- 
chachaip  na  Cpe,  L2.—  (T.) 

k  Aenias.  —  Homer  makes  ^Eneas  give 
this  genealogy  thus  : 

TIXo£  f)'  av  T£Ki9'  viov  afivfiova  Afiofi^ovra' 
AaofjLeSiitv  d'apa  TiQwvuv  rtKtro,  Hpiap.6v  rt' 
AdjuTrov  re,  KXimoj/  ff,  'iKtraova  r',  o£ov  "A- 


Si  Kcnrvv 


up 


\vrdp  ip.'  'A 


II.  v. 


,  sq.-  —  '( 


1  The  abhorred.  —  Seun-uruip  6pin  e,x- 
oppi  in  c-Qpccin  pin,  .1.  6piccm  mipcnech, 
B.,  which  may  be  translated  thus:  "the 
grandfather  of  Britus  exosus,  i.  e.  of  Bri- 
tain the  abhorred,  was  that  Ascan."  —  (T.) 

m  Our  noble  elder  Gnanach  __  In  B.  andL. 
this  reference  to  Guanach,  and  the  Chro- 
nicles of  the  Romans,  is  written  so  as  to  re- 
late to  what  follows,  not  to  what  precedes  ; 
but  the  words  ip  amlaio  pin  and  the  sense 
of  the  whole  passage  are  inconsistent  with 
this  supposition,  and  therefore  D.  has  been 
followed.  Guanach  is  not  mentioned  in  the 
Latin  copies  of  Nennius  ;  and  therefore,  as 
well  as  from  his  being  called  "  our  noble 


VII. 

elder,"  we  may  perhaps  conclude  that  he 
was  an  Irish  historiographer ;  but  no  such 
Irish  writer  is  known,  nor  is  the  name 
Irish ;  unless  we  suppose  it  to  be  the  same 
as  Cuan  or  Guana  (in  the  genitive  case 
Cuanach),  which  was  a  common  name 
among  the  ancient  Irish.  An  historio- 
grapher of  this  name  is  frequently  cited  in 
the  Annals  of  Ulster ;  thus  "sic  in  libro 
Cuanach  inveni,"  at  A.  D.  467,  468,  471, 
475'  552'  6°°>  602,  628;  or  "sic  est  in 
libro  Cuanach,1' A.  D.  610;  or  "  ut  Cuana 
scripsit,"  A.  D.  482,  489  ;  "  ut  Cuana 
docet,"  A.  D.  598  ;  "  secundum  librum 
Cuanach,"  A.  D.  543.  As  no  reference  to 
Cuana  occurs  in  these  annals  after  the  year 
628,  Ware  supposes  the  writer  so  named 
to  have  flourished  about  that  date  ;  and 
Colgan  doubtingly  identifies  him  with 
S.  Cuanna,  Abbot  of  Lismoro;  Ware's 
Writers,  by  Harris,  p.  26;  Colgan,  Acta 
SS.  ad  4  Feb.,  p.  251.  All  this,  however, 
is  simple  conjecture;  for  we  know  no- 
thing of  the  writer  quoted  in  the  Annals 
of  Ulster  except  his  name,  unless  he  be 
the  same  as  the  Cuana,  who  is  called 
"  Scriba  Treoit,"  or  of  Drogheda,  and 


VII.  lap  n-il  bliaDnaib  laptmm,  DO  peip  papDine  in  t)|ina6,  Do 
pala  DO  bpicup  beich   05  paigoeopachc  a  piaonaipi  in  pig  .1.  a 
achaip,  co  panig  in   c-paigeD  uaDa  a  coll  apach  in  pig,  ~\  gop 
mapb  in  pig  po  cecoip  ainnpin  .1.  a  achaip  pein,  -\  co  po  h-inoapbat* 
pon  [o'n]  h-Gacail  lapcoin  pop  inDpib  mapa  Uoppian,  -]  inDapbam 
<5pe'5  li-e  apnah-mopib  a  g-cmaio  Uuipnn  Do  mapbao  DO  Ctemap. 
Uanig  a  Ppancaib  mpoain,  [ocup]  po  cumDaigeD  leip  Uopinip,  [-] 
nip  puilngeao  anopin  h-e],  ~]  canig  mpoain  a  n-inip  bpeacan,  copo 
gab  a  pigi,  i  copo  h-ainnimgeD  in  imp  [uab],  ~\  50 pop  lin  Dia  clainD 
1  Dia  cineD  pom.     [Qgup  conaD  h-epin]  copach  a  rpebe,  Do  peip 
na  Roman. 

t>e  rai^ais  RomaN  [QNOSOJ. 

VIII.  lanup  .1.  Ian  pig  na  n-GpepDa,  ipe  ceo  pig   [po  gab]  T?o- 
manchu,    [agup]   ip  uao  ammnigep   mi   enaip.     SaDupnD  lapoain. 
loib  lapDain.     DapDan  mac  loib  lapDain.     piccup  mac  loib  [mp- 
Dain].      Punup    [mac    piccup]  n.    [bliaDan].      LaDin    a   mac  .1. 
[bliabon].     Qemap  a.  in.     Ctpcan  a.  .xixini.     Siluiup  in.  cona  po 

mapb 

whose  death  is  recorded  A.  D.  738  (An-  to  be,  7  ni  po  an  lap  co  po  mapb,  &c., 

i/als  of  Ulster),  739  (Tighernach). — (T.)  "and  he  stopped  not  (was  not  restrained) 

"  His  father For  .1.  a  achaip,  B.  and  until  he  had  killed  his  father." — (71) 

L'.  read  .1.  Silui.  IA  adds  after  a  achaip,  q  By  Aenias. — L'.  adds  here,  ajup  i 

.1.  Silump.— (7'.)  pean-chocac  jpec  ajup  Cpoiann   pein; 

0  The  temple Uollapach,   the  hollow  and  L2.  adds,  ocup  ip  e  cocao  jpec  ocup 

of  the  temple,  in  front  of  the  ear — (T.)  Cpoianoach  co  pin  anuap.— (T.) 

P  Died — his  oicn  father. — The  reading  r  Torinit. — Coip-inip,  B.     Cachaip  .1. 

here  followed   is  that   of  B.       D.   reads  Copmip,  L*.  The  city  of  Tours  is  intended, 

a^up  ni  apaenlop  gop  mapb  in  c-achaip  — (7'.) 

annpin.     L1.  reads  ajup  ni  poenlup  co  po  s  He  teas  not  suffered  to  remain  there — 

mapb  a  achaip    annpin.     And  L2.  ajup  This  clause  is  added  from  L1.  and  L'' — (T.) 

nip  aenlop  cop  mapb  a  achaip  annpin.  ( Here — Qn&po  is  added  from  B.  and  L1. 

The  meaning  of  all  these  readings  seems  — (71.)    The  first  paragraph  of  this  chap- 


39 

VII.  After  many  years  subsequently,  according  to  the  prophecy 
of  the  Druid,  it  happened  to  Britus  to  be  shooting  arrows  in  pre- 
sence of  the  king,  i.  e.  his  father",  and  an  arrow  from  him  pierced  the 
temple0    of  the  king,    and  the  king   died   immediately  there,  i.  e. 
his  own  fatherp;  and  afterwards  he  was  driven  out  of  Italy,  to  the 
islands  of  the  Torrian  [Mediterranean]  sea,  and  the  Greeks  expelled 
him  out  of  the  Islands  in  revenge  for  Turnn,  who  had  been  killed  by 
Aeniasq.     After  this  he  came  to  France,  and  Torinisr  was  founded 
by  him,  and  he  was  not  suffered  to  remain  there5,  but  came  after- 
wards into  the  island  of  Britain,  where  he  took  possession  of  the 
kingdom,  and  the  island  was  named  from  him,  and  became  full  of  his 
children  and  his  descendants.     And  thus  was  it  first  peopled,  ac- 
cording to  the  Romans. 

OF  THE  KINGS  or  THE  ROMANS  HERE'. 

VIII.  Janus,  i.  e.  Jan,  King  of  Eperda",  was  the  first  king  that 
took  possession  of  the  Roman  territory;  and  it  is  from  him  was 
named  the  month  of  January".     Saturn  after  him.    Joib  [Jove]  after 
him.     Dardan,  son  of  Joib,  after  him.    Piccus,  son  of  Joib,  after  him. 
Faunus,  son  of  Piccus,  reigned  twenty  years".     Latin,  his  son,  fifty 
years.    Aenias,  three  years.    Ascan  thirty-four  years.    Silvius  twelve, 

until 


ter,  down  to   "son  of  Aenias,"  does  not  po  jab,  are  inserted  from  B.  L1.  IA 

appear  totidem  verbis  in  any  part  of  the  from  L1.  L4.  —  (T.) 

original.    The  residue  is  gleaned  from  the          w  Twenty  years.  —  L1.  and  L2.  read  qiicu 

fourth,    fifth,   tenth,    and  twenty-eighth  bliaoan,  i.  e.  thirty  years.    The  insertions 

chapters  of  Nennius  __  (H.)  between    brackets    in    this    passage    are 

'"•Eperda.  —  Gppepoa,  IA  Hesperiawas  from  B.,  L1.,  and  L2.     Instead  of  Gemap 

an  ancient  name  of  Italy.     Hor.  Od.  lib.  a.  [i.  e.  annos]  in.    Qpcan  a.  ;cj:;ciiii.  ;  the 

iii.  6,  v.  7;  lib.  iv.  5,  v.  38  —  (T.)  other    copies   read   Cteniap  m.    bliaoan, 

T  January  __  TTlic    lanuaip,    IA  ;    the  Qpcan,  ;cx;cini.     Other  variations  in  or- 

other  copies  all  read  mi  enaip.  The  words  thography  are  not  worth  noting.  —  (T.) 


mapb  a  mac,  n.  bpicup,  [amail  po  paiopeamap].  Siluiup  amtm 
gach  pig  o  pom  [ille],  co  ropachc  l?omal  mac  poem  T?ea  Siluiae 
ingeme  Numicaip,  mic  Ppoic  Silun,  mic  Quencine  Silun,  mic  Qp- 
annulipi  Silun,  mic  Ggpaippae  Silnn,  mic  Uibepne  Silun  mic  Ql- 
bam  Silun,  mic  Clpcain  Silun,  mic  popcaime  Silun ;  bpachaip  pice 
1  bpicipoa  mac  Silun  mic  Gpcain  mic  Qeniapa  me. 

Popcomup  a  pijgi  l?oman  jrprprijc.  bpicap  a  piji  [inopi]  bpeacan 
FFJC.  bliaoam.  popcomiop  a  bpachaip  a  pigi  17oman  uc  oijcimup. 
heile  pagapc  ba  plaich  mac  n-lppachel,  -j  ip'na  comaip  pugao 
int)  aipc  ipm  baipe,  -\  cugao  po  ceDoip. 

O  50 bail  jjpiraip  50  gabail  Cpuirhneach  a  n-mopib  Opcc 
o.  cccc.  [bliaban]  ;  -|  po  gabpacap  in  cpian  cuaipcgeapcach 

mom 


*  As  ice  have  said. — Added  from  B. 
L'.  L2.— (T.) 

'  Of  every  king  from  that  time. — In  cec 
pi£,  B. ;  but  the  other  MSS.  all  read  jacli 
or  cue  juj.  Ille  is  added  from  L* (T.) 

* Numito-r,  sonofProc  Sylcius — Neim- 
ruip.  Nuitiicuip,  B.  L1.  L2.  J'ror,  for 
Procas;  it  will  be  observed  that  in  the 
Irish  form  of  the  proper  names  the  termi- 
nations as,  es,  us,  are  uniformly  omitted. 
L1.  reads  PIC  here,  and  L'-.  P'cc,  instead 
of  Ppoic,  which,  however,  is  evidently 
the  true  reading.  The  list  of  the  Silvii 
which  follows  appears  to  have  been  taken 
from  the  Chronicon  of  Eusebius,  although 
with  some  variations  and  inaccuracies. 
The  genealogy,  as  given  by  Eusebius,  is 
as  follows:  Numitor,  son  of  Procas  Syl- 
vius, son  of  Aventinus  Sylvius,  son  of 
Aremulus  S.,  son  of  Agrippa  S.,  son  of 
Tiberinus  S.,  sou  of  Carpentus  S.,  son  of 


Capis  S.,  son  of  Athys  or  Egyptius  S.,  son 
of  Alba  S.,  son  of  .^Eneas  S.,  son  of  Pos- 
thumus  S.,  brother  of  Ascanius  and  son 
of  jEneas.  See  also  Dion.  Hal.  and  Livy. 
Our  Irish  author  has  omitted  three  gene- 
rations between  Tiberinus  and  Alba;  and 
it  is  probable  that  Ascan  Sylvius,  whom 
he  makes  the  son  of  Posthumus,  is  a  mis- 
take of  the  scribe  (although  it  occurs  in 
all  the  MSS.)  for  JEneus.  He  also  makes 
Sylvius  Posthumus  the  grandson,  instead 
of  the  brother,  of  Ascanius,  for  which 
there  is  no  authority ;  although  Livy 
makes  Posthumus  the  son,  not  the  bro- 
ther, of  Ascanius. — (T.) 

11  Thirty-nine  years. — Probably  a  mis- 
take for  twenty-nine,  which  is  the  number 
of  years  assigned  to  the  reign  of  Posthu- 
mus by  the  Chronicon  of  Eusebius.  Lr. 
reads  cpicha  bliaoun  aile,  thirty  other 
years,  but  omits  the  next  clause  contain- 


until  his  son,  viz.,  Britus,  killed  him,  as  we  have  saidx.  Silvius  was 
the  name  of  every  king  from  that  time1  until  the  coming  of  Romul, 
himself  the  son  of  Kea  Silvia,  daughter  of  Numitor,  son  of  Proc 
Silvius2,  son  of  Aventine  Silvius,  son  of  Aramulus  Silvius,  son  of 
Agrippa  Silvius,  son  of  Tibern  Silvius,  son  of  Alban  Silvius,  son  of 
Ascan  Silvius,  son  of  Postam  Silvius  ;  he  and  Britus  were  brothers, 
and  they  were  the  two  sons  of  Silvius,  son  of  Ascan,  son  of  Aenias. 

Postomus  was  sovereign  of  the  Romans,  thirty-nine  years3'.  Britus 
was  sovereign  of  the  island"  of  Britain  thirty  years.  Postomios  his 
brother,  was  sovereign  of  the  Romans  as  we  have  said.  Heli,  the 
priest,  was  prince  of  the  children  of  Israel0;  and  it  was  in  his  pre- 
sence the  ark  was  taken  into  captivity",  and  was  brought  back  soon 
after. 

From  the  conquest  of  Britus  to  the  conquest  of  thePicts  in  the 
islands  of  Orce,  were  nine  hundred  years,  and  they  took  the  northern' 

third 

iug  the  length  of  the  reign  of  Britus,  so 
that  there  is  reason  to  suspect  that  a  line 
may  have  been  overlooked  by  the  scribe,  and 
that  the  thirty  other  years  really  belonged 
to  the  omitted  reign  of  Britus (T.) 

*  Island. — Inopi  is  added  from  B (T.) 

c  Children  of  Israel. — plaich  mac  n- 
ap&  Ippael,  B.  plaich  pop  macaib  h- 
Ippael,  L1.  lomap  pn  h-uapul  pacapc 
pop  macaib  Ippael,  L2 -(T.) 

AInto  captivity. — This  clause  relating  to 


the  captivity  of  the  ark  is  omitted  in  all 
the  MSS.  except  D.,  but  it  occurs  in  the 
Latin :  "  quando  rcgnabat  Bruto  in  Brit- 
tannia,  Heli  sacerdos  judicabat  in  Israel, 
et  tune  archa  Testamenti  ab  alienigenis 
possidebatur ;"  and  these  words  seem  taken 
from  the  Chronicon  of  Eusebius,  where 
IRISH  ARCH.  SOC.  NO.  l6. 


the  capture  of  the  ark  is  thus  recorded : 
"Mortuo  Heli  saccrdote  archa  testamen- 
ti  ab  alienigenis  possidetur." — (T.) 

e  Ore. — epcono,  L'.  Opcac,  L-.  Opc- 
cac,  B.— (7'.) 

f  Northern. — -In  the,  Latin  "in  sinistrali 
plaga  Britannia."  Anciently  the  north 
was  considered  to  be  on  the  left  hand  side, 
and  the  south  on  the  right,  looking  east, 
as  the  ancient  Christians  did  in  prayer. 
And  the  same  language  is  still  used  in 
Irish,  for  cuaio  is  properly  the  left  hand, 
as  well  as  the  north ;  and  beup  signifies  the 
right  hand  and  the  south.  See  Usshcr, 
Primordia,  pp.  80,  1021 — (T.)  Likewise 
in  British  go-gledd,  quasi-sinistralis,  the 
north ;  and  deheu-barth,  pars  dextra,  the 
south.— (//.) 


(i 


mDpi  bnectccm  ap  egin  o  bpeacnaib,  i  aiccpeabaic  ann  cop 
unDiu. 

^aeoil  mpoain  po  jjabpac  in  panD  cecna  na  Cpuichneach,  -\ 
Do  ponpac  aencaij  pe  Cpuichnib  a  n-ajaio  bpeacan. 

Sa;rain  po  gabpac  iapt>ain  imp  bpeacan  a  n-aimpip  TTlap- 
ciain  in  pij.  J^opcigeapnn  [ona]  ba  pig  bpeacan  ann  .1.  Luchc  rpi 
lonj  cangacap  ap  in^eapniam  nn  Da  bparliaip  .1.  Opp  ~\  Qijeapc 
50  po  Dicuippeac  bpeacnu  in-nnlib  na  li-inDpi. 


t>e 


amair,  iNt>isis 


IX.  Ceio  peap  DO  gab  GipinD  .1.  pappralon  cum  mile  hoin- 
imbup  .1.  mile  icip  pipp  -|  mna,  "|  po  popbpiclieap  a  'n-6ipi  na  n-il 
mileaoaib,  copap  mapb  a  n-aen  c-peachcmam  DO  cam,  [a  n-Dijail 
na  pinjaili  Do  poinDi  pop  a  pachcnp  ajup  pop  a  machaip]. 

NemeaD 


8  Martian  the  king,  i.  e.  .tin:  emperor 
Marcinn,  A.D.  450-457.  The  Latin  rends 
"  Regnante  Gratiano  secundo  Equautio, 
Saxones  a  Guorthigirno  suscepti  sunt;" 
but  some  MSS.  read,  "Regnante  Martiano 
secundo  quando  Saxones,"  &c.  —  (T.) 

h  The  crew  of  three  ships  __  The  story  is 
thus  told  in  the  Latin,  "  Interea  venerunt 
t.res  ciula;  a  Germania  exjiulsa:  in  exilio, 
in  quibus  erant  Hors  et  Ilengist,  qui  et 
ipsi  fratres  erant."-  —  (T.) 

1  Isli.iHil.  —  Na  clipioch,  L".  The  re- 
petition in  the  Book  of  Lecan  ends  here. 


J  The  first  man,  ^r  —  See  Additional 
Notes,  No.  IV. 

k  With  a  thousand  men  —  Cfjup  mile 
muille  ppip,  B.  L.  Keating  quotes  Nen- 


nius,  out  of  the  Psalter  of  Casliel  (whieh, 
very  probably,  contained  a  eopy  of  this 
work),  as  his  authority  for  the  number 
of  Partholan's  companions.  After  giving 
the  names  of  Partholan's  wife  and  three 
sons,  he  says  that  there  came  with  him 
an  army  of  a  thousand  men,  mile  DO 
plua£  i  muille  pit),  DO  peip  Nenniup, 
umcul  leu^rop  a  Ppulcuip  Chaipil,  "ac- 
cording to  Nennius,  as  we  read  in  the 
Psalter  of  Cashel."  Mr.  Dermot  O'Conor, 
in  his  translation  of  this  passage,  has 

tranformed  Nennius  into  A'inus (T.) 

1  They  multiplied. — poipbpecipcup,  B. 

poipbpeuoup,  L (?'.) 

,  m  In  one  week — This  event,  as  Keating 
tells  us,  from  the  Psalter  of  Cashel,  took 
place  300  years  after  the  arrival  of  Par- 


43 


third  part  of  the  island  of  Britain  by  force  from  the  Britons,  and 
they  dwell  there  unto  this  day. 

Afterwards  the  Gaels  took  the  same  division  occupied  by  the 
Picts;  and  they  made  a  treaty  with  the  Picts  against  the  Britains. 

The  Saxons  afterwards  took  the  island  of  Britain  in  the  time  of 
Marcian  the  Kingg.  But  Gortigearn  was  then  King  of  Britain,  i.  e. 
the  crew  of  three  ships"  came  out  of  Germany  under  two  brothers, 
viz.,  Ors  and  Aigeast,  so  that  they  drove  the  Britons  into  the 
borders  of  the  island1. 

OF  THE  CONQUEST  OF  Em,  AS  RECORDED  BY  NENNIUS. 

IX.  The  first  man1  that  took  Eri  was  Parrtalon,  with  a  thou- 
sand menk,  i.  e.  a  thousand  between  men  and  women;  and  they  mul- 
tiplied1 in  Eri,  into  many  thousands,  until  they  died  of  a  plague  in 
one  week™,  in  judgment  for  the  murder  that  he  committed  on  his 
father  and  on  his  mother". 

Nemed 


tliolan ;  sec  also  the  Annals  of  the  Four 
Masters,  who  give  A.  M.  2820  as  the  date 
of  this  plague,  and  2520  as  the  date  of  Par- 
tholan's  arrival.  Keating  fixes  the  arrival 
of  Partholan  in  the  twenty-second  year 
before  the  birth  of  Abraham,  on  the  au- 
thority of  an  ancient  poem,  or  300  years 
after  the  Deluge.  It  never  seems  to  have 
occurred  to  these  ancient  historians  to  ex- 
plain how  all  this  minute  knowledge  about 
Partholan  and  his  followers  could  have 
been  preserved,  if  they  had  all  perished  in 
the  plague.  O'Flaherty  (Ogygia,  p.  65) 
places  the  birth  of  Abraham  in  A.M.  1949, 
and  the  arrival  of  Partholan  in  A.  M. 
1969,  on  the  authority  of  the  Annals  of 

G 


Clonmacnois,  and  Giolla  Coemhan's  poem 
beginning  Gpe  apo,  of  which  there  is  ii 
copy  in  the  Leabhar  Gabhala — (T.) 

"  In  judgment I/is  mother. — This 

clause  is  added  from  L.  The  double  par- 
ricide of  Partholan  is  not  mentioned  in 
the  Latin  copies.  Keating  speaks  of  it 
thus:  Gp  i  cmpumma  b-cumijt;  pupclia- 
lon  a  ii-Gpmn  cpe  map  DO  rhupb'  pe  a 
aruip,  a^up  a  muraip,  ag  lappuio  pi^e 
b'a  b'puraip,  50  o-caimg  ap  ceiciob  a 
pionjaile,  50  puimg  Gipe,  gonaD  aipe 
pin  Do  cuip  (Jiu  plui£  ap  a  pliocc,  pep 
mapbab  nuoi  mile  pe  h-aom  peuccmum 
oiob,  a  m-6emn  Goaip.  "  The  cause 
why  Partholan  came  into  Eri  was  because 


44 


Nemeao  ictpoain  pop  ^ab  [pen  in  Gipmt>].    TTlac  pamem  ajiaile 
Ggnomain;  po  arcpeob  a  pil  pe  pe  cian  [in  Gipint>],  co  n-t>eacat>ap 
co  h-Gapbain,  pop  ceiceao  [in  cippa]  na  TThiipiDe  .1.  na  pomopac. 
Uipi  bullopurn  .1.   pipbols   mpoain   -]   Uipi   Qpmopum,  .1.  pip 
,  -]  Lhpi  Oominioputn  .1.  Ppi  Domnann,  pil  Nemio  annpin. 
T?o  jab  in  n-Gipino  lapoain  plebep  Oeoputn  .1.  Uuara  oe  Oa- 

nann 


lie  had  killed  his  father  and  mother,  in  or- 
der to  obtain  the  kingdom  from  his  bro- 
ther, after  which  murder  he  departed,  and 
came  to  Eri;  but  on  this  account  God  sent 
a  plague  on  his  race,  by  which  were  killed 
nine  thousand  men  of  them  in  one  week, 
ut  Ben  Hedar;"  now  Howth.  The  Four 
Masters,  ad  A.  M.  2820,  place  this  event 
"at  the  old  plain  of  Moynalta,  on  the 
Hillot'Edar,"  or  Howth; — fop  pen  muij 
Gulca  Gbaip  ;  and  they  add,  that  a 
monument  in  memory  of  it  was  erected 
at  Tallaght,  near  Dublin,  thence  called 
Caiiileuchc  mumcipe  pupchalun,  the 
Tamhleacht,  or  plague  monument  of  the 
posterity  of  Partholan. — (T.) 

0  Eri. — The  words  pen  in  6ipniu  are 
added  from  L.  The  arrival  of  Nemed  is 
dated  by  the  Four  Masters,  A.  M.  2850; 
and  by  O'Flaherty  (Ogygia,  p.  65)  A.M. 
2029.  5Qk)  when  followed  by  a  preposi- 
tion, has  a  neuter  signification (7'.) 

P  In  Eri — Added  from  B.  L (T.) 

11  The  tribute.-— Added  from  B.  L.  For 
an  account  of  the  Irish  traditions  about 
the  Nemedians,  their  contests  with  the 
Fomorians  or  mariners,  and  the  op- 
pressive tribute  imposed  upon  them,  see 


Keating's  History  of  Ireland.  O'Flaherty 
dates  the  flight  of  the  Nemedians,  A.  M. 
2245.  1"°  Fomorians  were  "men  of 
the  sea,"  for  so  the  name  signifies,  i.  e. 
they  were  pirate*.  Keating  says  :  Ctp 
uipe  oo  yipci  poihopui^  6iob,  .1.  o 
na  m-beir  ujj  oeunarh  pojlu  ap  muip. 
Pomopai^,  .1.  po  rmnpib.  "  For  this 
reason  they  are  called  Fomorians,  because 
they  used  to  commit  robbery  on  the  sea. 
FotHor/ans,  i.  e.  on  the  seas." — (T.) 

r  \  ii'i  Hutttrrum Uipno,    in  D.,  is  a 

manifest  error  of  the  scribe  for  Uipi.  D. 
is  the  only  one  of  the  three  MSS.  that 
gives  the  Latin  names  here.  liuUum,  in 
the  Latinity  of  the  middle  ages,  signified, 
according  to  Du  Gauge,  liacidum  pas- 
tor is ;  which  suggests  a  derivation  of  the 
name  Fir-Bolg,  that  the  Editor  has  not 
seen  noticed.  Keating  derives  it  from 
bolj;,  a  leathern  bag,  or  pouch ;  and  others 
think  that  this  colony  were  Belga\  See 
O'Brien's  Diet,  in  voce  bolg,  and  O'Fla- 
herty (Ogygia,  p.  73),  who  fixes  the  date 
of  the  arrival  of  the  Fir-Bolg,  A.  M.  2657. 
The  Four  Masters  place  this  event  under 
A.  M.  3266.— (2'.)  See  Ad.  Notes,  No.V. 

s  Were  the  race  of  Nemed. — Viri   Ar- 


45 


Nemed  afterwards  inhabited  Eri°.  He  was  the  son  of  one  Ag- 
noman;  his  race  dwelt  long  in  Erip  until  they  went  into  Spain, 
flying  from  the  tribute"  imposed  on  them  by  the  Muiridi,  i.  e.  the 
Fomorians. 

The  Viri  Bullorumr,  i.  e.  the  Firbolg,  afterwards,  and  the  Viri 
Armorum,  i.  e.  the  Fir-Gaileoin,  and  the  Viri  Dominiorum,  i.  e.  the 
Fir  Domnann:  these  were  the  race  of  Nemed8. 

Afterwards  the  Plebes  Deorum,  i.  e.  the  Tuatha  De  Danann',  took 

Ireland; 


morum  is  a  literal  translation  of  Fir- 
Gaileoin,  for  jaiUian  signifies  a  dart  or 
spear.  (See  O'Brien  in  voce).  The  Fir- 
Domnann  are  supposed  to  be  the  same  as 
the  Damnonii  or  Dawnomi,  and  the  fan- 
ciful derivation  of  their  name  given  by 
Keating,  is  far  less  probable  than  that 
suggested  by  our  author;  although  both 
are,  most  probably,  wrong.  Keating's  ac- 
count of  these  tribes  of  the  Fir-Bolg  is  as 
follows.  After  noticing  the  five  leaders 
of  the  Fir-Bolg,  he  says:  Gp  Do  na 
caoipiocnib  pe  50  na  b-poipnib  j^aipriop 
pip  6ol£,  pip  Dhoviinann,  ajup^aileom. 
pip  ftolg,  imoppo,  o  na  boljaib  leartnp 
DO  biob  aca  pan  n^peij,  ag  lomcop 
inpe,  Da  cop  pop  leacaib  loma,  jijo  n- 
oeunoaoip  moije  mion-pgocacu  po  blar 
biob.  pip  tDliorhnann  o  na  Doirhne  Do 
coclaiDip  an  uip  pe  na  h-iomchop  o'pea- 
paib  6015.  ^aileom  tpa  o  na  jaib  po 
h-ainmm£ea6  IQD,  DO  b;u^  jjupab  IQD  Do 
BIOD  a  n-apm  05  copnarh  caic  an  can 
DO  biDip  a^  Deunam  a  bpea&ma,  ajup  o 
na  ^aib,  no  o  na  plea^aib  pa  h-uipm 
Doib,  po  h-ammntjiob  IOD.  "  It  was 


these  chieftains,  with  their  followers,  who 
were  called  the  Fir-Bolg,  Fir  Dhomh- 
nann,  and  Gaileoin.  Fir  Bolg,  from  the 
leathern  bags  that  they  had  with  them  in 
Greece,  for  carrying  mould,  to  lay  it  on 
the  flat-surfaced  rocks,  so  as  to  convert 
them  into  flowery  plains.  Fir  Dhomhnann, 
from  the  deep  pits  (doimhne)  they  used  to 
dig  to  obtain  the  mould  to  be  carried  by 
the  Fir-bolgs.  And  the  Gaileoin  were 
so  called  from  their  spears;  because  they 
used  to  be  under  arms  to  protect  them 
all  when  they  were  performing  their 
task;  and  it  was  from  the  spears  (yaibh), 
or  from  the  lances  (sleayltaibk)  which  they 
used  as  arms,  that  they  were  so  called." 
See  also  the  Poem  beginning  Gpe  apap  na 
n-iop^al,  by  O'Mulconry  of  Cruaehain, 
in  the  Leabhar  Gabhala  (O'Clery's  copy, 
Royal  Irish  Academy,  p.  34),  which  was 
most  probably  Keating's  authority — ( T.) 
1  Plebes  Deorum,  i.  c.  Tuatha  De  Dan- 
aan The  name  Tuatha  De  Danann  sig- 
nifies "  the  people  of  the  Gods  of  Da- 
naan."  Danann,  daughter  of  Dalbaoit, 
(whose  genealogy,  in  thirteen  descents  up 


46 

nann  ip  oib  ]io  babaji  na  pnim  elaftnaig.  Goon  Luchcenup  Qp- 
cipe;r.  Cpeoenup  pigalup.  Oianup  TTleioicup.  Gaoan  [ona]  pilia 
eiup  .1.  muimi  na  piliD.  ^oibnen  pabep.  Lug  mac  Giuhnega 
jiabatiap  na  h-uil-oana.  Oagoa  [mop]  (mac  Galaoan  mic  Deal- 
baich)  in  pig.  Ogtna  bpachaip  in  pig,  ap  e  a  panig  licpi  na  Sgoc. 
I]1  iat>  na  pip  peo  po  bpipear  each  mop  pop  na  muipeaoaib  .1. 
pop  na  pomoncaib,  -\  cop  raecpaoap  pompa  ina  cop  .1.  Dun  fio 

oaingean 


to  Nemcd,  is  given  by  Keating),  is  fabled 
to  have  had  three  sons,  Brian,  luchar, 
and  Ineharba,  famous  for  their  sorceries 
and  necromantic  power,  who  were  there- 
fore called  I)e  Danann,  or  the  Gods  of 
Danann ;  and  from  them  the  people  who 
venerated  them  received  the  name  of 
Tuatha  De  Danann.  See  Keating.  O'Fla- 
herty  dates  the  invasion  of  the  Tuatha  De 
Danann,  A.  M.  2737.  The  Four  Masters, 
A.  M.  3303. — (T.) 

u  Coi/iiten,  fuber — In  15.  and  L.  the 
trades  or  arts  practised  by  these  "  chief 
men  of  science"  of  the  Tuatha  Ue  Danann, 
are  given  in  Irish,  not  in  Latin  as  in  the 
text;  aud  their  names  are  also  somewhat 
varied,  tuccuno  pnep.  OpeDne  ceupo. 
t)iuncecc  liui£.  Ccati,  Dna,  u  h-m^eni 
piDe  .1.  bunne  nu  pileuo.  ^oibneno 
^olia,  15.  6uclipa  in  paep,  ajup  Cpeione 
in  cecipo,  "jup  Oianceachc  in  IKII^, 
u^up6ut>anDariu  a  inpjean  pin,  .1.  muime 
nu  pileo,  ajup  ^oibneann  in  £obu.  L. 
i.  e.  "  Luchtan  (or  Luchra),  the  carpen- 
ter (or  mechanic);  Credne,  the  artist; 
Dianceacht,  the  leech  (or  physician)  ; 
Etan  (or  Edaudana)  teas  his  daughter, 


\'v/..  the  nurse  of  the  poets;  Goibnenn, 
the  smith."  These  personages  (with  the 
exception  of  Etan  "  the  nurse  of  poets") 
are  all  mentioned  by  Keating.  Etan 
is  thus  noticed  by  O'Flaherty,  "  Eta- 
na  poetria,  filia  Diankecht,  filii  Asaraci, 
tilii  Nedii,  Lugadii  regis  amita,  et  soror 
Armediu  medico;,  fuit  mater  Dalbocthii 
regis,"  &c — Oyyyia,  iii.  c.  14,  p.  179.  See 
also  theLoabhar  Gabhala  (O'Clery's  copy, 
K.  I.  A.)  where  she  is  thus  mentioned,  p. 
45:  6(irccm  bumeccep  mi;en  Oiuncbecc 
mic  Gapcupjj  6pic,  mic  Neicc;  and 
again,  p.  49 :  fcucun  .1.  an  bampile,  macaip 
Coipppi.  CIipmeD  an  Bamliaij  01  in^in 
C>!ancechc  laiopibe. — (7'.) 

v  \\~itli  ichiiiti,  i.e.  who  had  a  knowledge 
of  all  the  arts — Occui  po  baou",  B. 
U..np  ip  uici  po  buoap,  L.  This  Lugh 
was  Lugh  Lainli-fhada,  or  the  Long- 
handed,  who  instituted  the  games  at 
Taillten,  now  Telltown,  in  East  Meath. 
Keating  makes  him  the  son  ofCian,  son  of 
Diancccht,  &c.  See  also  Leabhar  Gabhala, 
p.  48 ;  and  O'Flaherty's  Ogygia,  part  iii. 
ch.  13,  p.  i71.—(T.) 

w  Son  of  Deatliaet/i. — This  short  gene- 


47 


Ireland;  it  was  of  them  were  the  chief  men  of  science;  as  Luchtenus, 
artifex;  Credenus,  figulus;  Dianus,  medicus;  also  Eadon,  his  daugh- 
ter, viz.  the  nurse  of  the  poets;  Goibnen,  faber".  Lug,  son  of  Eithne, 
with  whomv  were  all  the  arts.  Dagda  the  Great  (son  of  Ealadan, 
son  of  Dealbaith")  the  king.  Ogma,  brother  of  the  king;  it  was 
from  him  came  the  letters  of  the  Scots*. 

It  was  these  men  that  defeated  in  a  great  battle7  the  mariners, 
i.  e.  the  Fomorians,  so  that  they  fled2  from  them  into  their  tower*,  i.  e. 

a 


alogy  does  not  occur  in  L.  or  B.  TTIop  is 
added  from  L.  The  genealogy  of  these 
chieftains  is  thus  given  in  the  Leabhar 
Gabhala  (p.  48):  eochaib  Ollacap,  biap 
bo  h-amm  an  Oajoa,  mac  Galacam, 
mic  Oealbaoic,  mic  Nee,  mic  lonoaoi, 
ceirpe  ficic&liaoan.  " Eochaidh  Ollathar, 
who  had  the  name  of  the  Dagda,  son  of 
Ealathan,  son  of  Dealbaoth,  son  of  Net, 
son  of  londaoi  (reigned)  fourscore  years." 
Oealbuoic  mac  O^ma  ^pianoinn,  mic 
Galacam,  mictDealbuoic,  micNeicc,  mic 
lonnom,  oeic  m-bliaoan.  "  Dealbaeth, 
son  of  Ogma  Grianoinu,  son  of  Ealatlian, 
son  of  Dealbaet,  son  of  Ned,  son  of  londai, 
(reigned)  ten  years.  See  also  O'Flaherty, 
Ogyg.  iii.  c.  13,  p.  i79.—(T.) 

x  The  letters  of  the  Scots. — The  ancient 
occult  methods  of  writing  were  called 
Ogham.  Ogma  was  surnamed  ^piam-eijip, 
the  resplendent  poet,  which  O'Flaherty 
Latinizes  into  Ogma  Griananus  (Ogyg.  iii. 
c.  14,  p.  179) — (T.) 

''Defeated  in  ayreat  battle Lit.  "broke 

a  great  battle  upon  the  mariners."  In- 
stead of  each  mop,  L.  reads  each  tTluiji 


Uuipeao,  but  the  Irish  traditions  re- 
present the  battle  of  Moy  Tuireadh  as 
having  been  fought  between  the  Tuutha 
De  Danann,  and  the  Firbolg ;  so  that  this 
reading  is  probably  an  error  of  some 
scribe. — (2'.) 

z  They  fled. — Caecpac,  H.  Oiuec-- 
peao,  B.  Cheichpeuoap,  L. — (T.) 

a  Into  their  tower,  fyc. — -This  is  stated  as 
of  the  Milesians  by  Nennius  ;  and  the 
tower  is  said  to  have  been  of  glass.  The 
legends  of  glass  towers,  houses,  ships,  &c., 
are  capable  of  two  solutions :  the  one 
natural,  and  referring  to  a  time  when 
glass  windows  were  a  great  rarity;  and 
the  other  mystical,  and  analogous  to 
Merlin's  prison  of  air,  whereof  the  walls, 
though  invisible  and  transparent,  were 
for  ever  impassable.  See  Roman  de  Mer- 
lin, cvvviii.  On  that  principle,  every 
magic  circle  described  by  a  wand  of  power 
is  a  tower  of  glass;  and  a  circle  of  triliths 
or  of  stones,  though  it  be  a  half-open 
enclosure  (a  point  harped  upon  in  almost 
every  combination  of  British  words),  is  a 
perfect  and  inviolable  structure.  From  the 


48 

pop  muip.  Co  n-Deachaoaji  pip  Gpenn  ma  n-oajait)  co 
imnp,  copo  cachaispeac  ppiu  co  pop  poppo  oo  glaepeac  in  muip 
uile  ace  luchc  aen  luinge,  £op  gabaoap  in  n-inip  lapoain.  No  co- 
mau  mn  clann  Neimio  im  peapgup  leib-oeapg  mac  Neimm  oo 
rojailpear;  in  cop,  -jc. 

X.  Uainig  mpoain  Dam  ocliraip,  cona  och[c]  lonjaib,  ip  co  po 
aircpeabpar  a  n-Gipinn,  ~\  co  po  ^ab  pariO  mop  De. 

pp  bolg  imoppo  po  gabpac  TTlanaino  -)  apaile  innpi  apceana, 
Qpa  i  Hi  i  l?achpa. 

Clanoa  ^aileoin,  imoppo,  mic  Gapcail  po  jjabpac  inopi  ope  .1. 

Ipropech 

Preidcleu  Anmvvn  (Spoils,  or  Herds,  of  the  the  north  coast  of  Ireland  now  called 
Abyss)  wo  may  cite  this  passage:  "I  Copinip,  i.  e.  Tower  Island,  corrupted  in- 
shall  not  win  the  multitude.  [Under]  a  to  Tory  island.  After  the  destruction  of 

the  Foinorians,   another  body   of  pirates 
commanded  by  Move,  son  of  Dela,  with 


veil  [is]  the  leader  of  hosts.  Through 
the  enclosure  of  glass  (caer  wydyr)  they 
discerned  not  the  stature  (or  length, 


a  fleet  of  thirty   (some   copies  of  Keating 


gicrltyrl)   of  Arthur.       Threescore   bards  read  sixty)   ships  from  Africa,   again  oc- 

(c-anwr)   stood   upon   the   wall.     It   was  cupied  the  island,  and  were  again  attacked 

difficult  to  parley  with  its  sentinel." — 1\  by  the  Nemcdians;  but   the  tide  coming 

29-32.     The  name  of  Bangor  Wydrin  or  upon  them  unperceived  during  the  battle, 


Glaston,  belongs  to  this  notion  of  vitreous 
castles  or  sanctuaries,  whatever  be  its 
true  origin. — (//.) 

b  Closed  upon  them. — Cop  ur-oib  popcnb 
in  muip,  L.  Cop  pap  pop  siucluino  in 
muip,  B — (T.) 

«  £/»)>._6mpce,  L.— (T.) 

A  Or  according  to  others — The  second 
account  of  this  event  is  found  only  in  U. 
and  is  more  in  accordance  with  the  Irish 
traditions.  See  Keating,  and  the  Leabhar 
Gabhala.  The  tower,  called  Conaing's 
Tower,  from  Conaing,  son  of  Faobhar, 
is  said  to  have  been  on  the  island  on 


the  Nemedians  were  all  drowned,  except, 
the  crew  of  one  boat.  Xennius,  as  has 
been  said,  attributes  this  exploit  to  the 
Milesians.  It  would  seem  as  if  two  or 
three  diU'erent  stories  had  been  confound- 
ed together  in  the  accounts  of  it  that 
now  remain.  See  O'Flaherty,  Ogygia,  iii. 
c.  7,  p.  i"O. — ('/'.)  Fergus  Leithdearg 
•was  one  of  the  four  sons  of  Nemed,  and 
father  of  Britan,  from  whom  the  Irish 
deduced  the  name  of  Britain  and  the 
pedigree  of  St.  Patrick — (//.) 

e  A  company  of  eight Oarh  ochraip, 

so  written  in  D.  and  L.     B.  reads  t)a- 


49 

a  very  strong  fortress  on  the  sea.  The  men  of  Eri  went  against 
them  to  the  sea,  so  that  they  fought  with  them  until  the  sea  closed" 
upon  them  all,  except  the  crew  of  one  ship0;  and  thus  they  \tlie  Irish] 
took  the  island  afterwards.  Or,  according  to  others'1,  it  was  the  de- 
scendants of  Nemed,  with  Fergus  Leith-dearg  [the  red  sided],  son 
of  Nemed,  that  destroyed  the  tower,  &c. 

X.  Afterwards  came  a  company  of  eight6,  with  eight  ships,  and 
dwelt  in  Eri,  and  took  possession  of  a  great  portion  of  it. 

But  the  Eirbolg  seized  upon  Mann,  and  certain  islands  in  like 
manner,  Ara,  Hi,  and  Rachraf. 

The  children  of  Galeoing,  also,  the  son  of  Ercal  [Hercules],  seized 

the 


riiocrop,  as  if  it  were  intended  for  Da- 
mochtor,  a  proper  name,  as  in  the  Latin 
copies;  but  the  verb  canjaoap,  which  is 
the  third  person  plural,  shews  that  in  this 
MS.  also  the  words  meant  a  company  of 
eight.  L.  and  B.  read  only  cona  lon^eap 
or  gona  lonjip,  with  their  ships,  omitting 
ochc.  Some  of  the  Latin  copies  read 
Clam  Hector,  Clan  Hoctor,  and  some  mere- 
ly Hoctor;  a  word  which  in  Irish  signifies 
eight  men. — (T.) 

f  Ara,  Hi,  and  Rachra Qpa  7  Ha 

7  Recca,  B.  Qpa  7  He  7  TCucca,  L. 
The  islands  of  Ara,  Ha  or  Islay,  and 
Kachlin  or  Rathlin,  are  intended.  In 
the  Latin  we  read  "  Builc  autem  cum 
suis  tenuit  Euboniam  insulam,  et  alias 
circiter."  Eubonia  is  the  Isle  of  Man, 
and  Builc  is  most  probably  a  corruption 
of  6015  or  F'P  6olj; (T.) 

g  The  children  of  Galeoin,  Sfc — That  is 
to  say  the  Fir-Galeoin  before  mentioned; 
being  that  tribe  of  the  Firbolg  who  ob- 

IRISH  AECH.  SOC.   l6.  H 


tained  Leinster.  The  original  merely 
says,  that  Istoreth,  son  of  Istorin,  occu- 
pied Dalrieda,  i.e.  Argyle,  Lorn,  and  their 
vicinage ;  and  has  nothing  about  the  Ork- 
neys. The  translator,  in  this  instance, 
has  only  heaped  confusion.  For  the  name 
of  Agathirir,  grandfather  of  Istorin,  means 
Agathirsus,  i.  e.  Pictus ;  yet  he  is  made  a 
Ferbolg,  arid  distinguished  from  the  race 
of  Cruithnich  or  Picts,  in  which  occurs 
another  Istoreth.  I  suppose  the  name 
Istorinus  of  Nennius  to  be  the  Irish 
name  Starn,  which  occurs  in  the  brother 
of  Partholan  (Ogygia,  part  i.  p.  4)  and  the 
father  of  Simon  Brec  (Keating,  p.  37); 
and  which  has  been  derived  from  stair, 
history.  See  Wood's  Primitive  Inhabitants, 
pp.  14,  1 1 8.  The  name  Ilistoreth  of  Nen- 
nius, transferred  by  our  translator  to  the 
Picts,  is  quoted  as  son  of  Agnamhan,  but 
Starn,  father  of  Simon  Brec,  was  grandson 
of  Agnamhan,  which  has  been  interpreted 
Song.  See  Wood,  ibid,  p.  1 3. — (H.) 


5° 

Ipcoperh  mac  Ipcoipine  mic  digine  mic  Qgachipip  po  pjailpeac 

apip  a  h-mt>pib  Opcc  .1.  oo  cuaio  Cpuichne  mac  Inju  mic  Cuiche 

mic   paipce  mic  Ipcopech  mic  ajnamain  mic  buain  mic  TTlaip 

mic  paicheachc  mic  lauao  mic  lapech  ;  conat)  po  jab  cuapceapc 

mnp  bpeacan,  -|  co  pombpeac  a  pecc  macu  a  peapann  a  peace 

pannaib,  -|  ape  amm  cacha  pip  t>ib  aca  pop  a  peapann. 

Seacc    meic   Cpuichmj  .1.  Pib,    pioach,   Poclam,    popcpfnn, 

Cac,  Ce,  Cipij.     [Uc  oi;ric  Colam  cilli 

TTIoippeipeap  Do  Cpuichne  claint* 
T?oint>pet>  Qlbain  a  peaclir  paint) 
Cair,  Ce,  Cipeach  cecach  clano, 
pib,  piDach,  pocla,  poipcpeanD.] 

Q^up  co  po  jab  Qenbeajan  mac  Caicc  micCpuichm  apDpije  na 

pecc   pano.     pinacca  ba  plair  n-Gipenn   ip   in  pe   pin,  [agup]  po 

jabpac  giall  Cpnichneacli. 

Do  cuaoap  coicpeap  imoppo,  oo  Cpuchancuachib  a  h-mt>pib 

opcc 
11  Son  of  Agathirir.  —  RipcoipenD   mac 

lliptopin,  mic  Qjom,  mic  Qgarluppi,  B. 

InipcoipeanD   mac    Iproipmi,    mic    G£- 

numna,  mic  Qjjachaippi,  L.     The  Latin 

roads,     "  Istorith,    Istorini    tilius,   tcnuit 

Dalrieta  cum  suis."     It  will  lie  observed 

that  the  Fir-Galeoin,  who  a  little  before 

were  supposed  to  have  derived  their  name 

from  jalian,  a  spear,  and  who  were  there- 

fore called  v/ri  armornm,  are  here  derived 


from  Galian,  the  name  of  a  man.  These 
inconsistencies  at  least  prove  that  the 
present  work  was  compiled  from  various 
ancient  sources,  which  were  copied  blindly 
by  the  compiler,  without  any  attempt  to 
make  them  hang  together  consistently  — 
(T.) 


'  Again — Qpipioi,  L.  t)opioipi,  B.-(7'.) 

k  Cmit/me. — Cruithne  is  here  made  to 
be  a  man's  name  ;  his  genealogy  is  thus 
given  in  L. :  Cpuichne  mac  lnj;e,  mic 
f,uchta,  nnc  Papchalon,  mic  Cfjjnon, 
mic  6uam,  mic  IDuip,  mic  phachecc, 
mic  lauao,  mic  lachpech,  mic  Nae  :  in 
B.  thus:  Cpuichne  mac  Cinje,  mic 
f,uccui,  mic  papcui,  mic  Plipcopech ; 
and  it  will  be  seen  that  in  another  part  of 
15.  the  genealogy  is  given  in  another  form 
more  nearly  agreeing  with  L._ (21.) 

'  To  his  own  jxyriion — Literally,  "  and 
it  is  the  name  of  each  man  of  them  that 
is  on  his  land."  This  clause  is  omitted  in 
this  place  in  B (T.) 

m  As  Cdumbkittesaid. — This  short  poem 


the  islands  of  Ore,  i.  e.  Istoreth,  son  of  Istorine,  son  of  Aigin,  son  of 
Agathirir11,  were  dispersed  again' from  the  islands  of  Ore,  and  then  came 
Cruithne",  son  of  Inge,  son  of  Luithe,  son  of  Pairte,  son  of  Istoreth, 
son  of  Agnaman,  son  of  Buan,  son  of  Mar,  son  of  Fatheacht,  son  of 
Javad,  son  of  Japheth ;  so  that  he  seized  the  northern  part  of  the 
island  of  Britain,  and  his  seven  sons  divided  his  territory  into  seven 
divisions,  and  each  of  them  gave  his  name  to  his  own  portion1. 

The  seven  sons  of  Cruithne  are  Fib,  Fidach,  Fotlaid,  Fortrean, 
Cat,  Ce,  Cirig.     As  Columbcille  saidm. 

Seven  of  the  children  of  Cruithne 

Divided  Alban  into  seven  portions ; 

Cait,  Ce,  Cireach  of  the  hundred  children, 

Fib,  Fidach,  Fotla,  Foirtreann. 

And  Aenbeagan",  son  of  Cat,  son  of  Cruithne,  took  the  sovereignty  of 
the  seven  divisions.  Finacta0  was  Prince  of  Eri  at  that  time,  andp 
took  hostages  of  the  Cruithnians. 

Now  five  menq  of  the .  northern  Cruithnians,  i.  e.  five  brothers  of 

their 

is  inserted  from  L.  and  from  B.  (where  it  plaich  n-Gpenn,  &c.,  as  in  the  text,  with 
occurs  in  another  place).   B.  in  this  place  only  some  trivial  variations. — (T.) 
agrees  almost  exactly  with  D.  Immediately  n  Aenleagan.     Onbecan,  L.  B. — (T.) 
after  the  genealogy  of  Cruithne,  L.  adds  :  Ip  °  Finacta. — This  must  be  Finacta,  son 
h-e  achaip  Cpuichnecli  ajup  cec  blia-  of  Ollam  Fodla,  who  became  king  of  Ire- 
bam  ippijje.  SeachcmeicCpuidine  mopo  land  on  the  death  of  his  father,  A.M.  3276 
.  i  .  PI&,  cijuppmach,  ujup  Pocla,  ajup  according  to  O'Flaherty;  3923  according 
Popcpeann,  Caic,  ajjup  Ce,  ajup  Cipic,  to  the  Four  Masters;  and  3112  according 
ur  oi;cic,  &c.,  as  in  the  text.     After  Co-  to  Keating. — (T.) 

lumbkille's  verses  follows,  Co  po  point)-  P  And. — Ctjup,  added  from  L — (T.) 

peac  i  pecc  pannaib  in  peupann,  ajjup  ip  i  Five  men. — Coiccap,  D.  Coijeap,  B. 

e  ainm  each  pip  fiib   pil  pop  a  peapuno,  Coicpeap,   which  is    the   reading   of  L., 

uc  epc  pib,   Ce,  Caic,  Jc.    ;ciii  pi  con  shews  the  true  etymology  of  this  class  of 

jobpao  Oib  poppo,  ajjup  gabaip   Onbe-  personal  numerals.  See  O'Donovan's  Irish 

can  mac  Caic  tnic  Cpuichne  aipbpiji  net  Grammar,  p.  125. — (T.) 
peccpenn  pin.  Then  follows  pinoaccapa 

Hz 


52 


opcc  .1.  cuic  bpachpi  achap  Cpuirne  co  Ppancaib  50  po  cuinDaij- 
peao  cachaip  ann  .1.  picccarup  no  Inpiccup,  o  na  pinncaib  ainm- 
nijeap  ;  ~\  co  cangaoap  oopip  Docum  na  h-innpi  .1.  oocum  na  h-Gpenn, 
co  pabaoap  pe  cian  arm,  50  pap  oicuippeac  5aeD1^  caP  Tnuip  t»o 
cum  a  m-bpachap. 

Clanna  Liaramnnic  Gapcail  po^abpau  peapann  Oieimcopum  -| 

co[a]  macaiba  bpearnaib. 


t>e  nncechcai6  ^aeDeac.  QNNSO  sis. 
XI.  IS  amlam  peo  nnoppo  arpiaoaic  na  h-eolam  na  n-gaeoeal 

imceachca 

u  Sons  of  Lialkan — This  is  a  literal 
version  of  Nennius  :  "  Filii  autem  Lie- 
than  obtinuerunt  in  regione  Demetorum, 
et  in  aliis  regionibus,  i.  e.  Guir  et  Cet- 
gueli,  donee  expulsi  sunt  a  Cuneda,  et 
a  filiis  ejus,  ab  omnibus  Britannicis  re- 
gionibus."— (7'.)  The  names,  Liathan 
and  Ereal,  variously  disfigured  in  the 
Latin,  are,  perhaps,  corrected  here.  On 
the  other  hand  the  names  of  Denetia 
or  Dyved,  i.  e.  Pembrokeshire,  Gwyr  or 
Gower,  in  Glamorgan,  and  Cydweli  or 
Kidwelly,  in  Caermarthen,  as  well  as  that 
of  king  Cynedda,  are  further  corrupted. 
See  Humph.  Llwyd  Commentariolum, 
p.  100. — (//.) 

v  Dieimptorum  and  Gxer  and  Guigelk. — 
t)iemcopum  ojup  Cuhep  ajup  Cujeilli, 
L.  TDiamcopuo  ojup  <5ueP  a5ur  5U~ 
jelll,  B._ (7'.) 

w  Cohenda — Cuanna,  L.  Cuanoa,  B. 
-(T.) 

x  Expelled. — Innapb,  H.  Inbapbapcap, 
B.  Innapbpaoap,  L. — (T.) 

y  As  follows — So  much  of  this  Gadelian 


r  Pictatm  or  Inpictus — Or  perhaps  we 
should  translate,  "  Pictatus  or  the  Pic- 
tus."  L.  reads  piccabip,  and  B.  picra- 
uip,  without  the  second  name.  The  city 
of  Augustoritum,  or  Poictiers,  capital  of 
Pictavia,  or  Poictou,  in  France,  is  evi- 
dently the  city  meant.  The  fable  is  in- 
vented to  suit  the  similitude  of  names. 
Keating,  ([noting  the  authority  of  the 
Psalter  of  Cashel,  makes  the  Cruithneans 
a  people  of  Thrace,  and  supposes  them  to 
have  founded  Pictavium  in  the  course  of 
their  migrations,  before  their  arrival  in  the 
British  isles.  See  Keating,  at  the  reign 
of  Heremon. — (7".) 

5  From  the  pick-axes. — Instead  of  o  na 
pinnraib  ammnigeaji,  B.  and  L.  read 
simply  a  h-amm. — (T.) 

c  To  their  brethren. — The  substance  of 
this  section,  with  some  additional  matter 
(the  length  of  the  reigns,  for  example,  of 
the  sons  of  Cruithne,  and  the  cities  where 
they  reigned),  is  given  in  another  copy, 
near  the  beginning  of  this  Tract,  in  both 
B.  and  L.— (T.) 


53 

their  father  Cruithne,  went  from  the  islands  of  Ore,  to  the  Franks, 
and  founded  a  city  there,  viz.,  Pictatus  or  Inpictusr,  so  called  from 
the  pick-axes5 ;  and  they  came  again  to  this  island,  i.  e.  to  Eri,  where 
they  were  for  a  long  time,  until  the  Gaedil  drove  them  across  the 
sea  to  their  brethren'. 

The  sons  of  Liathan",  son  of  Ercal,  seized  the  country  Dieimpto- 
rum,  and  Guer,  and  Guigellev,  until  Cohenda™  and  his  sons  expelled" 
them  out  of  Britain. 


OF  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 
XI.  The  learned  of  the  Gaels2 

or  Milesian  story,  as  belongs  to  Nennius, 
is  culled  from  his  ninth  and  seventh  chap- 
ters. The  Altars  of  the  Philistines  are  the 
Aree  Philffinorum,  between  Leptis  Magna 
and  Barce, 

"  Qua  celebre  invicti  nomen  posuere  Pliilseni," 
two  Carthaginian  brothers,  whose  patrio- 
tic self-devotion  is  recorded  in  many 
writers,  especially  in  Sallust's  Jugurtha, 
p.  126.  Delphin.  1674.  The  Lacus  Sa- 
linarum  (here  Salmara)  must  signify  the 
salt-marshes  near  the  Syrtis  Major,  called 
in  maps  Salinas  Immense  ;  and  not  the 
lake  anciently  called  Salinas  Nubonenses 
in  the  Mauritania  Sitifensis  ;  for  other- 
wise the  Gaels  would  be  retrograding  east- 
wards to  Rusicada.  The  city  of  Rusicada 
(here  Ruiseagda;)  was  near  the  modern 
Stora,  to  the  west  of  Bona,  and  had  a 
Donatist  bishop  Victor,  and  a  Catholic 
bishop  Faustinian.  See  Optatus  a  Dupin, 
p.  14,  p.  369.  Antwerp.  The  Montes 
Azarae  (here  Mount  lasdaire)  are  the 


GAEDEL,  AS  FOLLOWS*. 
give  the  following  account  of  the 

adventures 

Mons  Aurasius,  stretching  S.W.  of  Rusi- 
cada. The  River  Malva  is  now  the  Enza, 
at  or  near  the  division  of  the  Algerian 
and  Maroquin  states.  The  Mediterranean 
Sea  is  the  Mare  Terrenum,  or  Land  Sea, 
of  Marcus,  pp.  52  and  49,  and  of  Tire- 
chan  in  his  Annot.  p.  xix.  Wherever  (as 
in  Nennius,  cap.  ix.  Galfrid.  Monumet.  i, 
c.  12,  and  in  the  Lives  of  St.  Patrick)  the 
Tyrrhenum  cequor  is  spoken  of  by  writers 
of  these  islands,  it  is  a  corruption  of 
Terrenum,  and  means  the  Terranean  or 
Medi-Terranean.  It  is  worthy  of  obser- 
vation, that  learning,  neither  inaccurate 
nor  very  common,  has  found  its  way  into 
this  geography  of  the  Historia  Britonum. 
It  has  been  copied,  in  an  ignorant  man- 
ner, by  the  Archdeacon  of  Monmouth, 
or  by  the  original  author  whom  he  ren- 
dered. Galfrid.  Monumet.  i,  cap.  1 1,  12. — 
(H.) 

*The  learned  of  the  Gaels.—"  Sic  mihi 
peritissimi    Scottorum     nunciaverunt. — 


54 

imceachca  a  n-appaiDe  coipeac.  Ro  bai  apaile  peap  poceanolach 
pop  loingeap  i  n-Gigipc,  lap  na  h-mtmpba  a  piji  Sgeichia,  in  n- 
inbam  cangaDap  meic  Ippachel  cpe  TTluip  RuaiD,  -]  po  baiDeao 
popanD  cona  pluaj.  In  pliiag  cepna  ap  $an  baoat),  po  h-innapbpac 
a  h-Gigipc  in  loingpec  [poicenelach]  UD,  ap  ba  clmmain  pium  Do 
popant)  t»o  baioeao  ann  .1.  popann  Cfncpip. 

T?o  apcnaoap  mpum  in  SjeicheagDai  co  na  clann  ip  a  n-Qpppaij, 
co  h-alcopaib  na  peilipDinach  co  cuinb  Salmapa,  •]  eicip  na  l?uip- 
eagoaib  -]  pliab  lapDaipe,  -]  cap  ppuch  mbailb  cpep  in  pec 
muipiOe  co  colamnaib  Gpcail  cap  muncinn  ^amiooin  coh-6appain; 
1  po  aiccpeabaio  [in  Gppain]  lapDam,  co  cangaDap  meic  TTlileao 
Gappame  co  h-6ijnnD  co  cpichaic  cuile,  co  rpicha  lanamain  each 
cul,  a  cino  Da  bliaDan  ap  mile  lap  m-baoao  popainD  [im  muip 
puait)]. 

Re;r  haucem  eopum  meppup  epc  .1.  po  baioeaD  in  pig  .1.  Oonn  05 

ci5 


Quando  venerunt  per  mare  Eubrum  filii 
Israel,"  &c — Nennim.  See  Additional 
Notes,  No.  VI.  Two  copies  of  this  sec- 
tion are  to  be  found  in  different  parts  of 
the  Book  of  Lecan — (T.) 

*  Noble — Soiceneluch  added  from  B. 
L'.  L2.— (T.) 

b  i.  e.  Forann  Cincris. — These  words 
occur  only  in  D.  In  the  Chronicon  of 
Eusebius  we  read,  "  Iste  est  Pharao  Chen- 
cres  qui  contradixit  per  Mosen  Deo,  atque 
mari  rubro  obrutus  est." — (T.) 

c  The  wells  of  Salmara. — Sctlmapum, 
B.  L1.  Salmapmm,  L2.  In  the  Latin 
"  per  lacum  Salinarum,  or  "Palmaruin," 
as  some  MSS.  of  Nennius  read  erro- 
neously.— (T.) 


d  The  Ruiscaijdtv. — Na  T?uprect>u,  L'. 
na  Roipcicoa,  L'-.  nu  Ropcicoa,  B.  In 
all  the  Irish  copies  this  word  seems  given 
in  a  plural  form  as  the  name  of  a  people. 
The  Latin  reads,  "  ad  Rusicadam." — (T.) 

e  Mount  lasdaire Slebe  6apraip,  L2. 

Slebe  Qj-cape,  B.  L1.  The  Latin  reads, 
"  Montes  Azariai ;"  but  some  copies  read 
"  Syria?,"  and  Gale's  edition  reads  Ararat. 
-(T.) 

f  The  River  Mlall D.  reads  cap  pliab 

mbalb  i.  ppur,  where  the  words  i.  fpuc, 
are  manifestly  the  correction  of  pliab,  and 
introduced  by  the  ignorance  of  the  copyist 
into  the  text.  B.  and  L*.  read  ppuch 
niaille.  L'.  reads  j-pucli  ITIuilb.  The 
Latin  is  "  per  flumeu  Mai  vain." — (T.) 


55 

adventures  of  their  ancient  chiefs.  There  was  a  certain  nobleman  in 
exile  in  Egypt,  after  he  had  been  banished  out  of  the  kingdom  of 
Scythia,  at  the  time  when  the  children  of  Israel  passed  through  the 
Red  Sea,  and  Forann  [  Pharoali] ,  with  his  host,  was  drowned.  The 
army  that  escaped  without  being  drowned,  banished  out  of  Egypt 
the  aforesaid  noblea  exile,  because  he  was  the  son-in-law  of  the  Forann 
that  was  drowned  there ;  i.  e.  Forann  Cincris5. 

Afterwards  the  Scythians  went,  with  their  children,  into  Africa, 
to  the  altars  of  the  Philistines,  to  the  wells  of  Salmarac,  and  between 
the  Ruiseagdaed,  and  Mount  lasdaire6,  and  across  the  River  Mbalbf, 
through  the  Mediterranean  Seag  to  the  pillars  of  Hercules,  beyond 
the  sea  of  Gadidon"  to  Spain ;  and  they  dwelt  in  Spain'  afterwards, 
until  the  sons  of  Miled  (Milesius)  of  Spain"  came  to  Eri,  with  thirty 
boats,  with  thirty  couples  in  each  boat,  at  the  end  of  a  thousand  and 
two  years  after  Forann  was  drowned  in  the  Red  Sea1. 

Rex  autem  eorum  mersus  est,  i.  e.  the  king,  viz.,  Donn,  was 

drowned 

B  The  Mediterranean    Sea.— Sec   mui-  though    he    refers   to    this    passage,    lias 

pioe,  literally  semita  marina,  the  sea  path      entirely  misunderstood  it. (T.) 

or  way,  which  must  here  signify  the  Me-  i  InSpain.— Addedfrom  B.L1.  L" (T.) 

diterranean.     The  Latin  is  "  transierunt  k  mied  Of  Spain.— -This  occurs  in  uno- 

per  maritima." — (T.)  ther  part  of  the  Latin  copies,  "  Et  postea 

h  The    sea    of  Gadidon. — This    is    not  venerunt  tres  filii  cujusdam  militis  Ilis- 

mentioned  in  the  Latin.     ITluincino  C(c-  panias"    (ITlileaD    Cappame,   where    the 

eoan,  B.  (the  aspirated  5  omitted.)  mum-  proper  name,  Miled  or  Milesius,  appears 

cino   5aiD1DonDa>  L.     The  word    mum-  to  stand  for  miles),    "  cum  triginta  ciulis 

cino  or    mumcinn,    signifies  the  top   or  apud  illos,  et  cum  triginta  conjugibus  in 

surface  ;  the  level  plain  (here  of  the  sea).  unaquaque    ciula."     The   word   cuil    or 

In  the  Leabhar  Gabhala  (p.  3),  it  is  ex-  cul,  (cubed,  L.)  is  evidently  cognate  with 

plained  in    a  gloss  by  uaccap,    surface.  the   Anglo-Saxon  ceol,   a   long  boat,   the 

Op  mumcinn    [.i.  uaccap]    mapa    maip  root  of  our  present   English  word   keel. 

Caipp ;  "  Over  the  surface  of  the  Caspian  See  Du  Cange  v.  Ceola,  Ciula. — (T.) 

Sea."      O'Reilly,  in   his  Dictionary,  al-  '  In  the  Red  Sea. — Added  from  L.     L). 


56 

cij  Duint>.  <Cpi  banoe  in  n-inbcnO  pin  a  plaiciup  Gpenn,  polla,  •] 
banba,  -|  Sine,  copo  moiDeaOap  cpi  cacha  poppo  pe  macaib 
TTIileab.  Copo  gabaoap  meic  TTlileao  pigi  lapoain. 

Concenpio  magna  pacca  epr  .1.  po  pap  copnam  [mop]  ecep  Da 
mac  IDileat)  imon  pige  co  po  pibipcap  a  m-bpeicham  lac  .1.  Gmaip- 
gein  [glun  jeal  mac  TTlileD,  •]]  ba  piliO  eipioen  t>na;  -|  ip  e  in 
pib  Oo  poinoe  .1.  painD  Gpenn  a  n-oo,  -]  pogab  Gbep  [in  leach] 
reap,  -]  6ipemon  [pa  leach]  cuaig;  -\  [po]  aiccpeabaio  a  clanna 
an  n-mopi  [peo  cup  anoiu.] 

XII.  bpeacam  cpa  po  gabpacap  in  n-inpi  peo  ip  in  cpeap 

aimpeap 


reads  lap  m-aoao  for  tap  m-baoao,  omit- 
ting the  eclipsed  initial  letter,  a  very  com- 
mon omission  in  that  MS — (T.) 

m  Tigh-Duinn, — Heber  Donn,  one  of  the 
eight  commanders  of  the  Milesians,  was 
shipwrecked  at  Teach  Duinn,  i.  e.  the 
House  of  Donn,  in  Kerry.  Ogygia  iii. 
cap.  1 6,  p.  182.  This  is  the  name  still 
given  by  the  peasantry  of  the  neighbour- 
hood to  one  of  the  three  islands  commonly 
called  the  Bull,  the  Cow,  and  the  Calf, 
oft'  Dursey  island,  at  the  south  entrance 
of  Kenmare  Bay.  Keating  speaks  of 
Teach  Duinn  as  being  near  sand  banks, 
Ctp  an  po  bairoib  100  ajj  na  Duihacaib, 
pe  paicciop  Ceac  t)umn,  i  n-iaprap 
ITIuman,  ajup  ip  o  t)honn,  mac  TDileuD, 
DO  bacab  ann,  jaipriop  Ceac  tDhuinn 
oe.  "  The  place  where  they  were  drowned 
was  at  the  sand  banks  which  is  called 
Donn's  House,  in  the  west  of  Munster  ; 
and  it  is  from  Donn,  son  of  Milesius,  who 
was  drowned  there,  that  they  are  called 


Donn's  House."  He  also  cites  the  fol- 
lowing verses  from  a  poem  by  Eochy 
O'Flynn  : 

tDonn,  ip  6ile,  ip  6uan  a  bean, 
t)il,  ip  Qipeac,  mac  PDileaa, 
6uap,  &peap,  ip  &uuijne  50  m-bloib, 
tDo  bacub  uj  nu  t)uriiucoiB. 

'*  Donn,  ami  Uile,  and  Buan  his  wife, 
Pil,  and  Aireac,  son  of  Milead, 
liuas  anil  Ureas,  and  Huaighne  renowned, 
Were  drowned  at  the  sand  banks." — (T.) 

"  Ihree  goddesses That  is  to  say,  three 

princesses  of  the  Tuatha  De  Danann,  for 
that  tribe  were  called  the  Gods.  They 
were  the  wives  of  the  three  grandsons  of 
the  Daghda (77.) 

0  Folia,  Banba,  and  Eire. — Porto,  B. 
L'.  L2.  Her  name  is  commonly  spelt 
Fobla.  See  the  story  in  Keating (T.) 

P  The  kingdom — Cpi  pi^i  pope,  L.,  i.  e. 
the  three  kingdoms  of  Fodhla,  Banba,  and 
Eri.  T?ije  poppo  pope,  B.  The  Latin 


57 

drowned  at  Tigh-Duinn™.  Three  goddesses"  at  that  time  held  the 
sovereignty  of  Eri,  namely,  Folia,  and  Banba,  and  Eire0,  until  three 
battles  were  gained  over  them  by  the  sons  of  Milead,  so  that  the  sons 
of  Milead  afterwards  took  the  kingdom15. 

Contentio  magnaq  facta  est,  i.  e.  there  grew  upr  a  great  dispute  be- 
tween the  two  sons  of  Milead,  concerning  the  kingdom,  until  their 
Brehon5  pacified  them,  viz.  Amergin  of  the  white  knee,  son  of  Milead  ; 
and  he  was  their  poet'.  And  this  is  the  peace  which  he  made",  viz., 
to  divide  Eri  into  two  parts,  and  EberT  took  the  northern  half,  He- 
rimon  the  southern  half,  and  their  descendants  inhabit  this  island  to 
the  present  day. 

XII.  Now  the  Britons  took  possession  of  this  island"  in  the  third 


words,  or  abbreviations  for  them,  et,  vero, 
sed,  post,  often  occur  in  Irish  MSS.,  but 
they  were  always  read  by  their  Irish  equi- 
valents, just  as  we  read  the  contraction 
"  &"  and,  although  it  is  really  an  abbre- 
viated mode  of  writing  the  letters  et. — (T). 

q  Contentio  magna,  fyc.  —  The  Latin 
words  at  the  beginning  of  this  paragraph 
appear  to  intimate  that  our  Irish  com- 
piler was  copying  from  some  Latin  ori- 
ginal. They  occur  only  in  D.  There  is 
nothing  corresponding  in  the  Latin  copies 
of  Nennius. — (T.) 

'  Grew  up Ro  dp,  D.  B.  for  po  pap, 

omitting  the  aspirated  initial.  Cop  pop 
cocao  mop,  L2.  Copnam  mop,  B.  L1. — 
(T.) 

s  Their  Brehon. — D.  reads  co  po  pioaij- 
peac  a  m-bpeichimain,  "  until  their  Bre- 
hons  pacified  them :"  but  this,  being  in- 
consistent with  what  follows,  is  an  evident 
mistake,  and  the  reading  of  L'.  L2.  and  B. 

IRISH  ARCH.  SOC.  NO.   1 6. 


age 

has  therefore  been  followed.  The  words 
inserted  between  brackets  after  Amergin's 
name  in  the  Irish  text,  are  added  from 

L1.  and  L* (T.) 

f  Their  poet. — The  word  pileb  implied 
much  more  than  a  poet.  See  O'Flaherty, 
Ogyg.  iii.  c.  1 6.  p.  1 83,  who  says,  "  Amer- 
ginus  sub  fratribus  suis  supremus  vates 
fuit.  Quo  nomine  (Filedh,  quasi  Philo- 
sopho)  non  poeta;  tantum,  sed  etiam  aliis 
scientiis  apprime  versati  audiebant." — (T.) 
u  He  made. — Instead  of  the  words  ujup 
ip  e  in  pib  DO  point>e  (which  are  inserted 
from  L1.)  D.  reads  ip  pe  m,  leaving  the 
sense  imperfect.  B.  reads  tigup  ip  e  in 
pi6.  L1.  reads  ipe  in  pich. — (T.) 

v  Eber. — ©mibep,  D.  The  insertions 
between  brackets  in  the  text  are  from  L'-'. 
D.  reads  clcmn  instead  of  clanria.  In 
inopi  cup  anbiu,  B.  In  inopi  peo  cup 
aniu,  L2.  In  n-mpi  co  pi6,  L1. — (T.) 
w  This  island. — Here  our  Author,  trans- 


aimpeap  in  Domain.  1pm  ceacpamao  aimpeap  in  Domain  imoppo 
po  gabpac  ^aeDil  Gpinn  ;  ip  in  aimpip  cenna  po  gabpacap  Cpu- 
ichnig  cuapceapc  inDpi  bpeacan;  ip  in  cpeipeO  aimpeap  imoppo 
cangaDap  Dal-piaDa  co  po  gabpac  painD  na  Cpuicneach,  -|  ip  an 
ampip  pin  po  gabpac  Sa;cain  a  paino  a  bpeacnaib. 

lap  n-il  aimpeapaib  cpa  po  gabpac  ftomam  apD  plachup  in  Do- 
main, n  no  paeDreac  ceachcaipe  co  h-imp  bpeacan  Do  cuingiD 

*      I      I  I  I  ' 

giall  i  eicipe,  amail  cugpac  ap  jac  cip  [n-aile].  Do  cuaoap  imoppo 
na  ceachca  [co]  DimDach  jan  jiall;  po  peapgaiDeao  in  pig  imoppo 
.1.  lull  Cepaip  pe  bpeacnu,  -\  camg  co  be.  cuile  co  h-mDbeap  ppo- 
cha  Camaip.  beallinop  imoppo  ba  pig  bpeacan  in  n-mbaiD  pin. 
Do  cuaiD  imoppo  Dolabeallup  aip  conpul  pig  bpeacan  a  com- 
Dail  luil  [Ceapaip],  -|  po  ceapgDa  milm  in  pig  ;  ipm  ampip  pin 
po  bpip  Donino  i  anpao  a  longa,  -|  Do  pachcuip  in  pig  gan  cop- 


lating  a  British  authority,  probably  Nen- 
nius, uses  the  words  this  island,  to  sig- 
nify Britain.  Nennius  (cap.  10,)  says, 
"  Brittones  venerunt  in  tertia  a;tate 
mundi  ad  Brittanniam.  Scotti  autem 
in  quarta  obtinuerunt  Hibernian!."  The 
six  ages  of  the  world  are  given  in  the 
various  editions  of  the  Historia  (and  with 
some  difference  in  Taliesin's  Divregwawd, 
p.  96),  but  are  omitted  by  this  transla- 
tor. The  third  age  was  from  Abraham 
to  David,  the  fourth  was  from  David  to 
Daniel ;  and  the  sixth  is  from  John  Baptist 
to  Doomsday.  Some  anachronisms  of  Nen- 
nius are  corrected  in  this  passage. — (//.) 

*  Age, XIep,  L2.     dip,  B.  L1.— (T.) 

•  y  Sixth  age. — In  ceipeo  aimpip,  D.  in 
pepeao  aip,  L'.  in  pepeao  ampip,  L1. — 
(T.) 


'•  The  Romans — Here  we  pass  to  the 
fourteenth  chapter  of  Nennius,  "  Romani 
autem  dum  acceperunt  dominium  totius 
mundi,  ad  Britannos  miserunt  legates," 
&c._(7'.) 

a  Other.— n-aile  added  from  L'.  L*.— 
(T.) 

b  Displeased — tDimjach,  D.  Co  oim- 
oach,  L'.  L'-.  ^o  01  mooch,  B. — (T.) 

c  Sixty  ships. — Co  pel  ciule,  D.  Vj:.  cu- 
baile,  L".  l,r.  ciuile,  B.  L'.  "Tune 

Julius  Ca;snr iratus  est  valde, 

et  venit  ad  Brittaniam,  cum  sexaginta 
ciulis,  et  tenuit  in  ostium  Tamesis,"  &c. — 
Nennius.—  (T.) 

d  Tames. — B.  reads  50  h-inbep  ipora- 
mep,  which  is  evidently  a  mistake  for 
ppora  Camep. — (T.) 

*  Procoiisul. — Qip  conpain,  D.,  an  evi- 


59 

age  of  the  world.  But  it  was  in  the  fourth  age*  of  the  world  that 
the  Gaels  seized  upon  Eri.  In  the  same  age  the  Cruithnians  took 
the  northern  quarter  of  the  island  of  Britain.  But  it  was  in  the  sixth 
age7  that  the  Dalriada  came,  and  took  the  district  of  the  Cruithnians, 
and  it  was  at  that  time  also  that  the  Saxons  took  their  portion  of  the 
island  from  the  Britons. 

But  after  many  ages  the  Romans2  took  the  sovereignty  of  the 
world,  and  they  sent  an  ambassador  to  the  island  of  Britain,  to  de- 
mand hostages  and  pledges,  such  as  they  had  taken  from  every 
other*  country.  The  ambassadors,  however,  went  away  displeasedb 
without  hostages  ;  and  the  king,  viz.,  Julius  Cassar,  was  enraged  witli 
the  Britons,  and  came  with  sixty  ships0  to  the  mouth  of  the  river 
Tames".  Now  Bellinus  was  king  of  the  island  of  Britain  at  that 
time.  And  Dolabellus,  pro-consul6  of  the  King  of  Britain,  went  to 
meet  Julius  Ca;sarf,  and  the  soldiers  of  the  king  were  cut  down  ;  in 
the  mean  time8  tempestuous  weather  and  storm  broke  his  ships,  and 

the 

dent  mistake.     Spoonful,  B.  L1.     Gpo-  though  he  was  clearly  dead,  being  father 

chonpot,   IA     This   last   reading   would  to   Cassivellaunus.— Galfrid.  iii.  cap.   20. 

signify  chief  consul ;  but  the  Latin  calls  But  Beli  Maur  was  a  sort  of  patron  hero 

Dolobellus  "  proconsul  regi  Brittanico."  to  Britannia,  which  was  called  his  island. 

Some    take  "  Dolobellum"  in  the  Latin  Taliesin,  Dirge  of  Pendragon,  p.  73.  Per- 

to  be  the  name  of  a  town,  an  interpreta-  haps  the  passage  may  be  restored  in  this 

tion  which  has  the  authority  of  Geoffrey  manner,  which  brings  into  play  both  the 

of  Monmouth  ;  it  will  be  seen,  however,  apud   and   the  contra:    "  pugnabat  apud 

that  our   Irish    author    considered  it   as  Dolo["n]    contra    [Cassi]bell[anjum,    qui 

the  name  of  a  man — (T.)     Nennius  has  erat  proconsul    regi    Britannico,    qui    et 

contra    Dolobellum,    and    Marcus,    apud  ipse  rex  Belinus  vocabatur,  et  filius  erat 

Dolobellum.     Camden  quotes  it,  ad  Dole  Minocani." — (H.) 

bellum,  "  a  battle  at  Deal ;"  but  neither  f  Ccesar. — Added  from  L2. — (T.) 

states  where  he  found  it,  nor  how  the  g  In  the  mean  time. — TJo  cepccu  rnilib 

rest  is  to  be  construed.     In  this  passage  p'j  ip   mo   amup  pin,   B.     12o  ceapjoa 

of  the  Historia,   Beli  Maur  ap  Manogan  mile,    D.     12o   cecoa  milij  mo   pij   in 

is  represented  as  still  king  of  Britain ;  n-oamup   pin    L'.     Ro  cepcaoan  milij 

12 


6o 


5iip  t>m  cip.  Uanij  imoppo  apip  a  cinn  rpi  m-bliaoan  co  rpi 
.c.  long  cop  in  -infcbeap  cetma  ;  po  puiOigipoap  imoppo  Oolobel- 
lup  beapa  mpaino  in  n-acha  na  h-abann  apa  cmo  in  carha,  co 
ropcpanap  na  mileao  pomanach  cpep  in  n-enjnam  neamaicpioe 
pin  .1.  epep  na  jpainib  cacha. 

Co  po  cineoilio  o  luil,  -]  co  capoao  each  ip  in  peapann  t>ia- 
nab  amm  dnuannpum,  co  pemam  poime  in  car  pin  -]  50  po  jab 
piji  na  h-int>pi  .un.  m-bliarma.  pel.  pe  gem  Cpipc,  ab  inicio  mumt>i 
ii.  jirj7.ii. 

XIII.  linl  ona  in  ceo  pij  Roman  po  gab  imp  bpearan  po  map- 

bao 


in  pij  iy  a  n-inbao  pin,  Lr.     Cepcra  is 
the  old  form   of  the  passive    participle, 


Notes,  No.  VII.     Cethilou,  Cetilou,  Ca- 
thiloii,  Cathelcu,  Cechilou,  Cethilo,  Cethi- 


ra  being  the  termination,  which  in  the      locium,    for  in  all  these  forms  it  is  found 


modern  Irish  is  06 — (T.) 

h  Without  victory Can  jiall,  without 

hostages.  L-.— (T.) 

'  Three  hundred. — -Cpichao,  D.  Cpi  .  c. 
L.  ccc,  B.  "  Cum  magno  oxercitu,  tre- 
centisque  ciulis." — Nennius.—(T.) 

•i  Seeds  of  battle. — This  passage  is  very 
obscure,  and  the  Irish  text  in  all  the  MSS. 
corrupt.  The  Latin  (Stevenson's  text)  is 
as  follows  :  "  Et  ibi  inicrunt  bellum,  et, 
multi  cecidernnt  dc  equis  et  militilms 
snis,  quia  supradictus  proconsul  posuerat 
sudes  ferreas  et  semen  bellicosum,  id  est, 


in  the  MSS.  of  Nennius,  seems  to  have 
been  a  British  word,  identical  in  signifi- 
tion  with  semen  bellicosum.  Cpep  in  n-ai 
cenatcpioe,IA  "Through  invisible  know- 
ledge," translating  ars  inv/sibilis.  B.  is 
altogether  corrupt,  cpep  in  n-aj  ner 
mac  pioi.  L1.  reads  cpi  pin  n-aj  neatn- 
aicpioe.  D.  has  najpioe,  where  n  is 
probably  a  contraction  for  neam. — (T.) 

"Seeds  of  battle"  is  literally  rendered 
from  "  semen  bellicosum."  "  Dictus  pro- 
consul posuerat  sudes  ferreas  et  semen 
bellicosum,  qua'  calcitramenta,  id  est 

"on. 


Cetilou,  in  vada  fluminis,  quod  discrimen  cethilocium  [cethilou,  cethiloii,  cethil 

magnum  fuit    militibus  Romanorum,  et  eathilou,  cechilou,  catheleu]  in  vada  flu- 

ars  invisibilis."    Here  it  would  seem  that  minis,  etc."  The  only  clue  to  this  mangled 

the  5pana  carha  of  the  Irish  is  an  at-  British    is    the    Latin    translation   of  it, 

tempt  to  translate  semen  bettimsiim,  which  which   shows   that  caltrops,  or  the   like 

was  probably  a  name  given  to  the  spikes  thereof,   were  called   the   seed    of  battle, 

or  caltrops  cast  or  sown  in  the  river  for  the  and  consequently  that  cad  or  cat,  battle, 

annoyance  of  the  enemy.     See  Additional  is  the  beginning  of  this  word,  and  perhaps 


6i 


the  king  was  driven  back  without  victory"  to  his  country.  He  came 
again,  however,  at  the  end  of  three  years,  with  three  hundred'  ships, 
to  the  same  bay ;  but  Dolobellus  put  spikes  of  iron  in  the  ford- 
ing place  of  the  river,  in  preparation  for  the  battle,  so  that  the 
Roman  soldiers  fell  by  this  invisible  stratagem,  i.  e.,  by  the  seeds  of 
battlej. 

Notwithstanding,  a  rally  was  made"  by  Julius,  and  battle  was 
given  in  the  land  which  is  called  Tinnandrum1,  so  that  he  broke™ 
that  battle  before  him,  and  took  the  sovereignty  of  the  island,  forty- 
seven  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ,  ab  initio  mundi  5035". 

XIII.  Now  Julius,  the  first  king  of  the  Romans,  who  took  the 

island 


fieu,  sowing,  its  termination.  Catheu  is 
too  short,  and  gives  up  the  I  in  which  all 
readings  agree.  Catol-keu  is  exactly  "  se- 
men bellicosum."  It  is  a  strange  criti- 
cism that,  with  the  Latin  actually  given, 
passes  it  over  unnoticed,  and  invents 
things  alien  to  it!  See  Owen  Pughe's 
MS.,  apud  Gunn's  Nennius,  p.  127.  Ro- 
berts' Tysilio,  p.  78 — (//.) 

k  A  rally  was  made. — Co  n-oeapnao 
a  cmol,  L1.— (T.) 

1  Tinnandrum. — Cjimuabann,  Ls.  Cpi- 
nouano,  B.  "  Gestum  est  bellum  tertio 
juxta  locum  qui  dicitur  Trinovantuin." 
Nennius.  Copo  no  Cpmouonnpum,  L1., 
where  copo  seems  a  mere  mistake — (T.) 

For  Tinandrum  read  Trinovantum  (the 
Troynovant  of  Geoffrey),  by  which  name 
London  is  denoted.  I  believe  that  name 
had  its  origin  in  a  mistranslation  of  Oro- 
sius,  "  Trinobantum  [gen.  pl.J  firmissima 
civitas  ....  Csesari  se  dedidit."  vi.  cap.  9. 


Csesar  died  B.  C.  45,  not  47,  as  stated  ; 
the  statement  immediately  following  in 
cap.  xiii.,  concerning  A.  D.  47,  has  arisen 
out  of  the  former  by  some  unaccountable 
confusion.  In  Marcus,  forty -seven  years 
after  Christ  are  made  the  duration  of 
Claudius'  reign (-?/.) 

m  He  broke,  i.  e.  he  won  the  battle. — 
Co  po  meabaio,  L1.  Co  po  maio,  L-'. 
^u  po  aemiD,  B.  which  last  reading  is 
evidently  corrupt (T.) 

n  Ab  initio  mundi,  <fyc. — This  date  is 
omitted  in  L2.  u.  m.  ;cx;cu.a  chiopach  Do- 
main co  pin  in  n-airnpip  pin,  L'.  U.^^ru. 
bliaoan  o  copac  oomam,  B.  "  Et  acce- 
pit  Julius  imperium  Brittanica;  gentis 
quadraginta  septem  annis  ante  nativita- 
tem  Christi,  ab  initio  autem  mundi  quin- 
que  millia  ducentorum  quindecim." — 
Stevenson's  Nennius.  In  D.  the  reading- 
is  u.  ^jctu.  as  in  the  text,  where  ii.  is 
for  urn.— (T.) 


62 


bao  ina  h-aipecc  h-pem,  -|  ip  na  h-amoip  po  h-ainmnigp eaD  Pomain 
mi  luil  a  cmt>  .un.  m-bliaona  pi.  lap  n-gein  Cpipc. 

.11.  CluiD  in  pig  eanaipoe  po  gab  imp  bpeacan,  [a  cino  cheach- 
pacao  bliaDan  agup  a  ceachaip  lap  n-gen  Cpipc],  -\  DO  pao  ap  mop 
ap  bpeacnaib,  -]  painig  imp  Opcc  lap  cop  dip  a  munncipe,  -|  lap 
mop  Die  a  muinnnpe  tapmroipeach  Dianao  amm  Caipebeallunup  ; 
cpi  bliaDna  Deg  •]  .uff.  mfp  a  pige,  co  n-epbailc  im  TTlagnanna  h-i 
LongbapDaib  ag  Dola  Do  TCoim  [a]  h-imp  [bpeacan]. 

lap  .uff.  m-bliaDna.  jcl.  ap  ceD  o  gem  Cpipc,  po  paipeac  in  pig 
-]  in  papa  .1.  Galicuhepiup  ppuiche  uaiDib  co  n-ebiplib  co  Cuciup 
co  pig  bpearan,  co  po  baipDicea  in  pig,  co  pigaib  bpeacan  ap- 
ceana. 

.iff.  Suapeip  in  cpeap  pig  cainig  a  m-bpecnaib;  ip  leip  Do  po- 

nao 


0  In  his  own  senate. — In  a  oipechc  pein, 
Ll.  O  na  aipeaccaiB  pen,  L2.,  "  by  his 
own  senators."  The  word  Qipeacc,  or 
Oipeacc,  signifies  an  assembly.  It  was 
the  common  name  given  to  the  assemblies 
of  the  people  in  Ireland  at  which  the  na- 
tive Brehons  administered  justice ;  and 
it  would  seem  that  it  is  in  this  sense  our 
author  applies  it  to  the  Roman  senate. 
In  Anglo-Irish  documents  of  the  period 
of  Hen.  III.  to  Eliz.,  it  was  commonly 
anglicised  Eriott,  and  Iraghte :  as  in  the 
letter  of  J.  Alen  to  the  Royal  Commis- 
sioners (1537),  "And  in  any  wyse  some 
ordre  to  be  taken  immedyately  for  the 
buildeing  of  the  castell  hall,  where  the 
lawe  is  kept ;  for  yf  the  same  be  not 
buyldeid,  the  majestic  and  estimation  of 
the  lawe  shalle  perryshe,  the  justices  be- 
ing then  enforceid  to  minister  the  lawes 


upon  hylles,  as  it  were  Brehons  or 
wylde  Irishemen,  in  ther  Eriottes." — State 
Papers,  ii.  p.  501.  See  also  Battle  of 
Magh  Rath,  p.  92,  note  e. — (T.) 

p  Forty  and  four  years. — This  clause  is 
added  from  B.  L1.  L2.  The  Latin  reads 
forty-eight.  "  Secundus  post  hunc  Claudius 
imperator  venit,  et  in  Britannia  impe- 
ravit,  annis  quadragiuta  octo  post  adven- 
tum  Christi,  et  stragem  et  bellum  fecit 
magnum,"  &c.  B.  L'.  and  L*.  read  CUno 
in  pij  canair-ce  ramie,  (instead  of  po 
jabe)  i.  e.  "  the  second  king  that  came  to 
Britain."— (T.) 

q  He  brought. — t)o  par,  B.  L1.  t)o 
paoao,  L2.— (T.) 

1  His  people, — Q  milecm,  L'.  a-mbio- 
bao,  his  enemies,  IA  a  maire  ajup  a 
rnileaa,  his  chieftains  and  his  soldiers, 


63 

island  of  Britain,  was  killed  in  his  own  senate0 ;  and  it  was  in  his 
honor  that  the  Romans  gave  the  month  of  July  its  name,  at  the  end 
of  seven  and  forty  years  after  the  birth  of  Christ. 

ii.  Cluid  [Claudius]  was  the  second  king  that  took  possession  of 
Britain,  at  the  end  of  forty  and  four  yearsp  after  the  birth  of  Christ, 
and  he  brought*1  a  great  slaughter  upon  the  Britons,  and  he  pene- 
trated to  the  islands  of  Ore,  after  causing  a  slaughter  of  his  people, 
and  after  a  great  loss  of  his  people"  by  the  chieftain  whose  name  was 
Cassibellaunus.  He  reigned  thirteen  years  and  seven  months',  when 
he  died  in  Magnantia'  of  the  Longobards,  as  he  was  going  to  Rome 
from  the  island  of  Britain". 

After  one  hundred  and  forty-seven  years"  from  the  birth  of 
Christ,  the  Emperor  and  the  Pope,  viz.,  Eleutherius,"  sent  clerks 
from  them  with  letters  to  Lucius  King  of  Britain,  in  order  that  the 
king  might  be  baptized,  and  the  other  kings  of  Britain  in  like  manner. 

iii.  Severus1  was  the  third  king  that  came  to  Britain ;  and  it  was 

by 

5  Seven  months. — Cpi  bliaona  oec  DO  w  Eleutherius. — Gulechepiup,  B.    Gu- 

ajup  occ  mir,  B.  Ls.     The  Latin    also  lecpiur,  L1.    6elecepiup,  L2.    The  Latin 

reads,    "  regnavit  autem  annis  tredecim,  reads,   "  missa  legatione  ab  imperatoribus 

mensibus  octo." — (T.)  Rornanorum,  et  a  papa  Romano  Eucha- 

1  Magnantia, — For  Magnantia  it  is  Ma-  risto."  Mr.  Stevenson  mentions  a  MS., 
gantia  in  Nennius,  and  in  Marcus,  Mogun-  in  the  margin  of  which  is  added  by  the 
tin,  which  are  Latin  modes  of  writing  original  scribe,  "  Mentitur,  quia  primus 
Mentz. — Nennius,  cap.  17.  This  erro-  annus  Evaristi  fuit  A.  D.  79,  primus 
neous  statement  arises  from  a  miscon-  vero  annus  Eleutherii,  quern  debuit  no- 
struction  of  the  words  of  Eutropius,  vii.  minasse,  fuit  A.  D.  161."  The  Irish  trans- 
cap.  1 3.  "  Post  hunc  Claudius  fuit,  pa-  lator,  therefore,  seems  to  have  corrected 

truus  Caligula,  Drusi  qui  apud  Mogun-      this  mistake  of  the  original (T.)     For 

tiacum  monumentum  habet  nlius." — (77.)  some  remarks  on  the  legend  of  King  Lu- 

u  Britain — Added  from  L1.  L2 — (T.)  cius,  see  Additional  Notes,  No.  VIII. 

v  Forty-seven  years. — The  Latin  reads  x  Severus. — Sebepiup,   Ls.      Seuepup, 

"  Post  centum  et  sexaginta  annos. — (T.)  L'.  B. — (T.) 


64 

mo  clao  Sa;ran  a   n-agaiD  na  m-bapbapoa  .1.  Cpuichneachu  Da 
ap  .c.  ceimenn  ma  pao,  -|  ape  ainm  in  clam  pin  la  bpeac- 


.m. 

r  achu  ^uaul ;  ~\  po  popconjaip  clao  aile  Do  Denam  in  n-ajaiD  £>ae- 
Deal  -|  Cpmchneach  .1.  ClaD  na  muice,  -]  Do  pochaippin  [mppin] 
la  bpeacan  co  n-a  copeachuib. 

.1111.  Capaupiup  lapDain  canij  co  cpoDu  Do  Dijail  Seuip  ap 
bpeacnaib  co  copcaip  pij  bpeacan  leip,  -|  co  po  jab  aeoju  pij  uitne 
cap  Dioen  in  pij  .1.  in  c-impep  ;  conao  po  mapb  QUeccup  copaiD 
Romanac,  -\  co  po  jab  [pioe]  pije  mpcain  ppia  pe  [ciana]. 

.u.  ConDpancinup  mac  Coripcancin  moip  mic  Qilina  po  jab 
imp  bpeacan,  -]  aobac,  ~\  po  acnacbc  a  Caippejinc  .1.  Tllinancia  .1. 

ainm 

"  Guaul. — The  wall  of  Severus,  from 
Tinmouth  to  the  Solway,  is  stated  by 
Nennius,  after  Orosius,  to  be  132  miles 
long  ;  but  the  distance  given  by  Sparti- 
anus,  in  his  Life  of  Hadrian,  who  first 
drew  that  line  of  defence,  viz.,  80  miles, 
is  nearer  to  the  truth.  Camden,  Britt.  ii. 
189,  Gibson.  That  which  is  here  men- 
tioned, 2130  paces,  is  absurd  and  unac- 
countable. In  Arabic  numbers,  we  might 
have  supposed  the  translator  to  have  read 
213  passuum,  without  the  millia  (213 
being  a  transposition  of  Orosius''  132), 
and  to  have  lengthened  that  extremely 


minute  extent  by  addition  of  the  cipher. 
But  as  he  employs  a  mixture  of  Roman 
numerals  and  words,  "two  M.  xxx.  and 
C."  we  are  in  a  manner  cut  off  from  that 
solution. 

The  second  wall  ascribed  to  Severus  by 
the  translator,  and  called  by  him  Cladh 
na  Muice,  must  be  the  line  of  Agricola 
and  Antoninus  Pius,  which  Severus  did 


not  restore,  but  Theodosius  afterwards 
did.  Perhaps  he  was  led  into  this  inter- 
polation by  mistaking  propterea  for  prce- 
terea. 

The  MSS.  of  Nennius  confound  the 
wall  of  Severus  with  that  of  Antoninus, 
both  in  their  original  description  of  it, 
and  in  their  assertion  that  Carausius  re- 
paired it  ;  fcr  the  latter,  if  true  of  any 
wall,  relates  to  that  of  Antonine,  cap.  xix. 
The  fable  of  the  violent  death  of  Severus 
is  given  at  large  in  Galfrid.  Monurnet.  5, 
cap.  2.—  (//.) 

1  Cludk  JKI  >tn/ice,  i.e.  the  pig's  ditch, 
or  the  "  swine's  dike".  It  is  remarkable 
that  a  very  similar  fosse  and  rampart,  in 
the  counties  of  Down  and  Armagh,  which 
formed  the  ancient  boundary  between 
the  territories  of  Oriel  and  Uladh  or 
Ulidia,  is  called  by  the  native  Irish, 

or  the  black 
the  Anglo-Irish, 

the  Dane's  cast."     See  an  account  of  it 


"  Gleann  na  muice 
pig's     glen  ;    and    by 


65 

by  him  was  made  the  Saxon  ditch  against  the  barbarians,  i.  e.  the 
Cruithnians,  2 1 30  paces  long,  and  the  name  of  that  ditch  among  the 
Britons  was  GUAUI/.  And  he  commanded  another  ditch  to  be  made 
against  the  Gaels  and  the  Cruithnians,  i.  e.  Cladh  na  muice2,  and  he 
was  afterwards3  killed  by  the  Britons,  with  his  chieftains. 

iv.  Carausius  afterwards  came  bravelyb  to  avenge  Severus  on  the 
Britons,  so  that  the  King  of  Britain  fell  by  him,  and  he  assumed  the 
royal  robes  in  spite  of  the  king,  i.  e.  of  the  emperor  ;  so  that  Alectus, 
the  Roman  champion,  killed  him,  and  he  himself0  [viz.  Alectus'] 
seized  the  kingdom  afterwards11  for  a  longe  time. 

v.  Constantinus,  sonf  of  Constantine  the  Great,  son  of  Helena, 
took  the  island  of  Britain,  and  died,  and  was  buried  at  Caersegeint, 
i.  e.  Minantia,  another  name  for  that  city ;  and  letters  on  the  grave- 
stone 

in  Stuart's  Armagh,  App.  iii.  p.  585,  and 
Circuit  of  Muircheartach,  p.  31.  There 
is  a  village  called  Swine's  Dike,  on  the  line 
of  the  Roman  wall  of  Antoninus,  which 
runs  from  the  Frith  of  Clyde  to  the 
Frith  of  Forth.  Horsley  (Britannia  Eo- 
mana,  p.  172),  speaking  of  this  wall,  says  : 
"After  it  has  crossed  a  brook,  it  leaves 
the  parks  and  passes  by  a  village  called 
Langton,  which  stands  about  three  chains 
south  from  it,  and  next  by  another  village 
called  Swine's  Dike,  where  the  track  of 
the  ditch  is  clearly  discernible." — (T.) 

a  Afterwards.— Added  from  IA  L2.  B. 
-(T). 

b  Bravely  — Co  copacc,  D.  Co  co- 
paca,  L'.  (5°  cupaca,  B.  The  Latin 
reads,  "in  Brittaniam  venit  tyrannide." 
—(T.) 

c  He  himself. — Added  from  B (T.) 

IRISH  ARCH.  SOC.    l6.  ] 


d  Afterwards — Clparmle,  B.  lappn, 

L'.  p.    [for  posted],  L2 (T.) 

e  Long. — Ciana,  added  from  B — (T.) 
f  Constantinus,  son,  Sfc — It  should  be 
"  Constantius,  father,"  &c.,  as  in  Gale's 
edition.  The  tomb  of  Constantius  is  said 
to  have  been  discovered  at  Caer  Segeint, 
close  to  the  modern  Caernarvon,  in  1283. 
The  discovery  of  a  tomb  in  that  year  is 
consistent  with  there  having  been  a  more 
ancient  tradition  to  the  same  purpose. 
But  Constantius  did  really  die  at  York, 

the  "  Caer  Ebrauc alio  nomine  Bri- 

gantum"  of  Gale's  Nennius,  and  beyond 
reasonable  doubt  was  buried  there  ;  not 
at  Caer  Segeint,  as  in  Marcus  and  the 
translation.  "Obiit  in  Britannia  Eboraci," 
Eutrop.  10,  cap.  i.  Brigantum  is  the 
translator's  Minantia,  and  Marcus's  Mi- 
manton. — (II.) 


66 


ainm  aile  Do  cachpaig  pin ;  -\  pallpijiD  licpi  [i  cloich]  in  at»nacail 
a  airnn,  -|  poppajaib  epi  pi  la  ip  in  n-pairce  op  in  carpaij  pin,  cona 
pil  pochc  ip  in  cachpaij  pin. 

.ui.  TT]ai;rim  ano  peipeao  impep  DO  jab  bpeacam.  [Ipnaaimpip 
pin  po]  cmDcpnab  conpaileachc  05  Romnncaib,  -|  nip  cojpaD  Ce- 
papi  pop  pij  eile  o  pin  amach.  Ip  a  na  aimpip  TTlnpcimin  pobai  an 
r -appeal  uapaipminDeac  .1.  naemTTlapcam;  [ooJ5ailha  la  Uleicpip 
Dobooen]. 

.un.  TTla^imain  po  jab  piji  bpeacan,  ~\  puj  [ploga]  bpeacam  a 
l?omanncaib  co  copcaip  laip  5panian  in  c-impep,  -\  po  jab  pein 
piji  na  h-6oppa  ;  -]  [m]  po  leij  uao  na  pluaij  pug  leip  oocum  a 
m-bari  i  a  mac  nach  a  peapann,  ace  DO  paD  peapanna  imoa  Doib 
[o  clia  in  loch  pil  immullach  Sleibe  loib]  co  Canacuic  buDeap  -] 
piap  co  Duma  OichiDen  air  a  puil  in  chpop  apjna,  -|  ip  IOD  pin 

[bpeacam 

pauper  in  ea  habitaret  unquam  :  et  vooa- 
tur  alio  nomine  Minmanton  [_al,  Miman- 
tum]."— (T.) 

'  Maxim. — See  Add.  Notes,  No.  IX. 
J  He  teas  ofGmdofUlexix — This  clause 
is  added  from  L2.,  it  is  not  in  the  Latin. 
In  the  text,  (which  is  from  D.),  St.  Martin 
is  called  appeal,  an  apostle,  a  word  which 
in  Irish  often  signifies  no  more  than  a 
prelate  ;  in  the  other  MSS.  he  is  merely 


8  Point  out  his  name. — poillpjio  licpi 
f-uippi  ainm  in  piji;  pin  i  cloich  in  aona- 
cuil,  B.  L'.  and  IA  omit  puipjn.  The 
Latin  reads,  "  Sepulcrum  illius  monstra- 
tur  juxta  urbem  qua;  vocatur  Cair  Sege- 
int :  ut  literse,  qua;  sunt  in  lapide  tumuli, 
ostendunt."— (T.) 

h  He  left  three  seeds. — L'.  and  D.  read 
pop  ajctib  [for  pa^aib]  cpi  pila.  D.  adds 
ip  in  carpaij  pin  n-amce,  and  L',  ipu 
n-airce  [for  n-pairce,  the  green  or  open 
space  of  a  village,  which  is,  no  doubt,  the 
correct  reading]  op  in  carpaij.  B.  reads 
Pop  a  cleib  rpi  pila  ip  in  n-ai6ci  uup  in 
cacpaij  ;  and  Le  reads,  popaclib  7  cpi 
pila  ip  in  aiochi  uap  in  cachpaio  pin. 
The  Latin  is  "  Et  ipse  seminavit  tria  se- 
mina,  id  est,  auri,  argenti,  ffirisque,  in 
pavimento  supradicta;  civitatis,  ut  nullus 


called  eappo^,  a  bishop.  6ooen  is  the 
old  form  of  the  emphatic  pronoun  pein, 
he  himself  ;  it  occurs  in  ancient  MSS.  in 
various  forms,  uoben,  bofiein,  paoein, 
pooein,  from  which,  by  aspirating,  and 
then  omitting  the  D,  comes  the  modern 
form  Feln-  We  find  it  also  in  the  forms 
paoepin,  and  buoepin.  See  O'Donovan's 
Irish  Grammar,  p.  130 — (T.)  The  words 


67 

stone  point  out  his  name8,  and  he  left  three  seeds"  in  the  green  of 
that  city,  so  that  there  is  not  a  poor  man  in  that  city. 

vi.  Maxim1  was  the  sixth  emperor  that  took  Britain.  It  was  at 
that  time  that  the  consulship  was  begun  among  the  Romans,  and 
no  king  was  called  Caasar  from  thenceforth.  It  was  in  the  time  of 
Maxim  that  the  noble  venerable  prelate  St.  Martin  flourished ;  he 
was  of  Gaul  of  Ulexisj. 

vii.  Maximian  took  the  kingdom  of  Britain,  and  he  led  the  armies* 
of  Britain  against  the  Romans,  so  that  Gratian,  the  emperor,  fell  by 
him,  and  he  himself  took  the  empire  of  Europe  ;  and  he  did  not 
suffer  the  armies  he  had  brought  with  him  to  go  back  to  their  wives 
and  their  children,  nor  to  their  lands,  but  gave  them  many  lands, 
from  the  place  where  there  is  the  lake  on  the  top  of  Mount  Jove1,  to 
Canacuicm  on  the  south,  and  westward  to  the  Mound  Ochiden",  a 
place  where  there  is  a  celebrated  cross0,  and  these  are  the  Britons  of 

Letha, 


"Gaul  of  Ulexis"  are  evidently  corrupt. 
The  name  of  the  river  Ligeris  upon  which, 
or  that  of  Luguge  or  Liguge  (Locociagum) 
at  which  Martin  at  different  times  sojourn- 
ed, may  be  latent.  If  any  one  prefers  to 
see  here  the  name  of  Ulysses,  he  must 
have  recourse  to  the  verses  of  Claudian, 

u  Est  locus  extremum  pandit  qua  Gallia  littus 
Oceani  prajtentus  aquis,  ubi  fertur  Ulysses 
Sanguine  libato  populum  movisse  silentem." 

In  Rufin.  1,  123 — (J7.) 

"  The  armies. — Added  from  Ll.  L2.  The 
Latin  reads,  "  Et  ipse  perrexit  cum  om- 
nibus militibus  Brittonum  a  Brittannia, 
et  occidit  Gratianum  regem  Romanorum, 
et  imperium  tenuit  totius  Europe." — (T.) 

1  From  the  place Mount  Jove. — 

Added  from  L1.  L2.  B.  The  Latin  reads 


"  a  stagno  quod  est  super  verticeni  mou- 
tis  Jovis,  usque  ad  civitatem  qiue  vocatur 
Cantguic." — (T.)  See  additional  Notes, 
No.  X. 

m  Canactiic Canchuic,  L1.  L'.    Can- 

cuic,  B.— (T.) 

n  The  Mound  Ochiden — "  Usque  ad  Cu- 
mulum  occidentalem,  id  est,  Cruc  Ochi- 
dient."  This  passage  settles  the  signifi- 
cation of  the  word  burha,  which  enters 
into  the  composition  of  many  topogra- 
phical names  in  Ireland,  and  which 
O'Brien,  and  after  him  O'Reilly,  explain, 
"  a  place  of  gaming."  Its  true  meaning  is 
a  mound,  a  tumulus.  The  word  Cruc  is  ex- 
plained by  Davies,  lippus,  tumulus — (T.) 

°  Cross. — D.   reads  inoeichnop  apjna, 
which  is  evidently  corrupt ;  the  reading 
Kz 


68 


[bjieccccnn  Lefa]  ~|  capapraip  reap  oojjpep,  -|  ip  aipe  pin  jio 
gabapoaip  eachcap-cineaoa  ripe  t>peacan,  -]  po  mapbcha  6pea- 
cain  a  n-imlib  a  peapaino. 

^paoian  imoppo,  cono  bpachaip  .1.  Ualer.rmien  a  compiji  .ui. 
bliaona  ;  ip  n-ampip  po  bai  in  c-eppoc  uapal  i  TTleoolen  popceollatD 
ria  cachlasoa  .1.  Qmbpop. 

Ualanennnen  i  Ueochap  a  complarup  oclic  m-bliaona  ,  ip 
na  li-aimpip  po  nr.eolam  in  pearab  i  Con]  rar.cm  .1.  I.  ap  rpi  ccc. 
i>o  ppucib  DO  Dicup  ipip  niaicciooin  .1.  oiulcao  in  Spipio  naem  ;  -\ 
ip  'na  amipip  po  bai  Cipine  uapal  pagapc  i  m-6eichil  [luoa]  in 
r-eioipceapcai^  carlilajlia. 

^paoian  ceana  map  oubpamap  -\  Ualencen  li-i  piji  co  po  pigao 
niajrmien  o  na  mileaoaib  a  n-inip  bpeacan,  -|  co  n-oeacliaio  rap 
inuip  a  Ppancaib,  -|  co  po  popuaplaijiD  in  pi^  J5pait>ian  cpe  bpach 

magipopeach 


adopted  is  from  L'.  L1.  und  li.  Then; 
is  no  authority  in  the  Latin  for  this  men- 
tion of  a  cross,  unless  we  suppose  the  word 
cruc  to  have  been  in  some  way  confounded 
with  crux.  See  Mr.  O'Donovan's  note, 
Hy  Fiaehrach,  p.  413. — (7'.) 

i'  The  Britons  (if  Letha. — Added  from 
L'.  L'.  B.  L2.  reads,  6peurain  lefan. 
The  Latin  is  "Hi  sunt  Hrittones  Arnio- 
riei." — (T.)  See  additional  Notes,  No. XI. 

q  Prelate D.  reads  eappol,  perhaps 

for  eapjrol,  apostle.  Gppoc,  bisl/o]/,  is 
the  reading  of  L'.,  L2.,  and  B.  D.  also 
reads  Qmpop,  omitting  the  b.  The  Latin 
is  "  et  AmbrosiusMediolanensis  episcopus 
clarus  habebatur  in  Catholicorum  dog- 
mate."—  (T.) 

r  Macedon,  ffc — The  second  (Ecumeni- 
cal Council  of  Constantinople  is  here  cor- 


rectly stated  to  have  had  especial  refe- 
rence to  the  opinions  of  Macedonius,  who 
denied  the  personality  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
But  the  Latin  copies  do  not  make  men- 
tion of  that  heresiarch (//.) 

5  Judah — Added  from  L-.  Ceuchr 
ceapcaij,  1).  This  notice  of  St.  Jerome 
is  taken  almost  verbatim  from  Prosper's 
Chronicon,  ad.  A.  I).  386 (T.) 

1  Ax  ice  have  said. — Dojjpurnap,  D.,  an 
evident  error  of  the  scribe.  The  reading 
followed  is  that  of  L'.,  L2.,  and  B. — (T.) 

u  Went — Neachubap  [for  n-oeachu- 
oup],  D.  The  reading  of  B.,  L'.,  L*.,  has 
been  followed. — (7T.) 

v  Set  at  liberty — puaplcngeao,  L'.  pop- 
baiplij;e&,  L!.  popunipli^eao,  B.— (T.) 

w  Master  of  tlte  soldiers — All  the  Irish 
copies  make  Parassis  the  pranomen  of 


69 

Lethap,  and  they  remained  in  the  south  ever  since,  and  it  was  for  this 
reason  that  foreign  tribes  occupied  the  lands  of  the  Britons,  and  that 
the  Britons  were  slaughtered  on  the  borders  of  their  land. 

But  Gratian,  with  his  brother  Valentinian,  reigned  conjointly  six 
years.  It  was  in  his  time  lived  the  noble  prelate'  in  Milan,  a  teacher 
of  Catholicity,  viz.  Ambrose. 

Valentiuian  and  Theothas  [Theodosius]  were  in  joint  sovereignty 
eight  years.  It  was  in  their  time  was  assembled  the  synod  in  Con- 
stantinople of  three  hundred  and  fifty  clerks,  to  banish  the  heresy  of 
Macedonr,  viz.,  the  denying  the  Holy  Ghost.  And  it  was  in  their 
time  the  noble  priest  Cirine  [Ilieronymus]  nourished  at  Bethlehem 
Judahs,  the  catholic  interpreter. 

The  same  Gratian,  as  we  have  said',  and  Valentinian,  reigned 
until  Maximen  \J\faximus\  was  made  king  by  the  soldiers  in  the  island 
of  Britain,  and  went"  across  the  sea  to  France  ;  and  the  king,  Gratian, 
was  set  at  libertyv  by  the  treacherous  counsel  of  the  master™  of  the 

soldiers 

this    magister    militum  :    the    Latin,    as  lio   triumphalis  et  trabeate  Merobaudes, 

printed  by   Bertram,   reads  Parasius,   as  recordetur  interitum;  quorum  alter,  etc., 

an  agnomen  of  Gratianus;  and  Mr.  Ste-  alteri    manibus    satellitum   Britannomm 

phenson  gives  it  thus:  "  Gratianus  Parisiis,  gula  domi  fracta,  et  inusta  foemiiiea;  mor- 

Meroblaudis  magistri  rnilitum  proditione,  tis  infamia,  ut  scilicet  maluisse  vir  ferri 

superatus  est,  et  f'ugiens  Lugduni  captus  amantissimus    videretur    laqueo    perire, 

atque  occisus  est."     But  the  Irish  makes  quamgladio." — Drepanius Pacatlts Paneg. 

Meroblaudes  treacherous  towards  Maxi-  Tkeodosii,  cap.  28.     It  seems  to  have  been 

mus,  not  towards  Gratian,  which  appears  an    affair   like    Piehegru's    and    Captain 

to   have   been   the   historical  fact (?'.)  Wright's,  and  may  have  happened  as  Paea- 

Parassis   is  a   corruption  of  Parisiis,   at  tus  intimates.  But  the  character  of  Maxi- 

Paris.      Merobaudes    magister    militum  mus   was  not  vile,   and  cannot    be  e^ti- 

was  faithful  to   Gratian,  and  is    said  to  mated  from  the  rhetoric  of  Pacatus.    The 

have    therefore    suffered    death    at    the  words  of  Nennius,  imputing  treachery  to 

hands   of  Maximus.    "  Quod   si  cui   ille  the  faithful  Merobaudes,  are  copied  from 

pro  cseteris  sceleribus  suis  minus  crudelis  those  in  the  Chronicle  of  Prosper  Aqui- 

fuisse  videtur,  vestrum  is,  vestrum,   Ba-  tane,   page  637,   ap.  Koncalli  Latinorum 


7o 

na  miliD  .1.  papappip  TTleapoblaoip  ;  co  po  ceich 
in  pis  co  CujDon,  co  po  gabao  ann,  ~|  co  po  mapbaD. 

TTla^imen  -|  a  mac  Uiccop  a  compel.  TTlapcam  a  Uopmip  in 
n-mbaiD  pin.  lHajcimen  imoppo  po  paobaijpo  leip  na  conpalu  o  ecju 
pigoa  .1.  la  Ualencinen  1  la  Ueochap  ip  in  cpeap  lice  on  cachaip 
Gi^ilia,  i  po  camnaigeD  o  cinn  ip  in  Ing  pin.  Do  pochaip  imoppo 
a  mac  .1.  Uiccop  h-i  Ppancaib  lap  in  comic  oianaD  amm  Qpjuba. 
O  cup  Domain  u.  m.  DC.  jcc.,  [co  pin,  DO  peip  each  cpoimce  pin.] 

XIV.  18  amlaiD  pin  inbipiD  apDpanca  na  bpeacan  .1  na.  uff. 
n-aipopija  Do  TComancaib  pop  bpeacan.  QcbeapaiD  imoppo  17o- 
manaio  ip  nonb'up  uaiDiB  pop  t>peacnaib  .1.  in  c-ochcmaD  in  Seuep 
canaipi,  acbach  05  Dul  DO  l?oim  a  h-mip  bpeacan.  Conpcancm 
.;cui.  bliaona  i  pi^i  innpi  bpeacan  co  n-epbailc.  Nai  m-bbaona 
cpa  ap  cccc.  DO  bpeacnaib  pon  cip  Romanac.  17o  h-mnapbpac 

cpa 


Chronica.  But  that  of  Prosper  Tiro, 
p.  679,  correctly  gives  it,  not  "Merobaudis 
mayistri  militum  proditione  superatus," 
hut  "Mero/miH/emagistro."  In  his  preface, 
p.  xvii.,  xviii.,  Koncalli  expresses  himself 
sceptically  upon  the  text  of  Prosper,  but 
not  upon  the  fact  of  Merobaudes's  inno- 
cence.— (//.) 

x  Lugdon. — c-uoon,  D.  ^o^son,  L!.  The 
reading  of  L'.  B.  has  been  followed — (T). 

>  Stone. — if  in  cpep  bliaoam  luj  on 
cuchcup,  L*.  if  in  rpeap  Uij  on  cu- 
cliaip,  D.  The  reading  of  L'.  and  B.  has 
been  followed  as  most  in  accordance  with 
the  Latin,  which  is  "  Post  multum  inter- 
vallum  temporis  a  Valentiniano  et  Theo- 
dosio  Consulibus,  in  tertio  ab  Aquileia 
lapide  spoliatus  indumentis  regalibus  sis- 
titur,  et  capite  damnatur."  This  is  taken 


word  for  word  from  Prosper's  Chronicle. 
See  note  a  infra — (T.) 

1  His  head  vas  cut  off. — Lit.  "  he  was 
separated  from  his  head;"  po  oichecmoao, 
L'.  po  Diclieunca,  L1.  po  oicheunnu6, 
B.,  all  different  spellings  of  the  same 
word,  he  was  beheaded. — (T.) 

1  Aryuba — Qp5ubup,L'.  Gpjobop ,L*. 
Qpjubap,  B.  The  Latin  reads,  "  Ab 
Argobaste  comite  interfectus  est."  The 
authority  is  Prosper's  Chronicon,  where 
the  fact  is  thus  recorded,  "  Maximus 
Tyrannus  a  Valentiniano  et  Theodosio 
imperatoribus  in  tertio  ab  Aquileia 
lapide  spoliatus  indumentis  regiis  sis- 
titur,  et  capite  damnatur.  Cujus  filius 
Victor  eodem  anno  ab  Arbogaste  est 
interfectus  in  Gallia."  Ad  A.  D.,  389. — 
(T.) 


71 

soldiers,  Parassis  Merobladis  ;  and  the  king  fled  to  Lugdonx,  and 
was  taken  there  and  put  to  death. 

Maximen  and  his  son  Victor  reigned  jointly.  Martin  was  at 
Torinis  at  that  time.  But  Maximen  was  stripped  of  his  royal  robes 
by  the  consuls,  i.  e.  by  Valentinen  and  Theothas,  at  the  third  stoney 
from  the  city  Eigilia  [Aguileia],  and  his  head  was  cut  offz  in  that 
place.  His  son  Victor  also  fell  in  France  by  the  hand  of  the  count 
whose  name  was  Arguba";  from  the  creation  of  the  world  are  5690'' 
years,  to  this  event,  according  to  all  the  chronicles. 

XIV.  It  is  thus  the  elders  of  the  Britons  have  recorded  their  his- 
tory, viz.,  that  there  were  seven  Roman  emperors0  who  had  dominion 
over  Britain.  But  the  Romans  say  that  there  were  nine  of  them  over 
the  Britons  :  that  is  to  say,  that  the  eighth  was  Severus  the  second", 
who  died  as  he  was  going  to  Rome  from  the  island  of  Britain.  The 
ninth  was  Constantine,  who  was  sixteen  years  in  the  kingdom  of  the 
island  of  Britain  when  he  died.  Four  hundred  and  nine  years6  were 

the 

b  5690 im.  DC.  pp.,  D.  u.  mile,  occc., 

B.  The  reading  of  L'.  and  L2.  has  been 
followed,  as  being  in  accordance  with  seve- 
ral MSS.  of  the  Latin.  The  words  in  pa- 
rentheses which  follow  are  added  from  IA 
-(T.) 

0  Seven  Roman  emperors,  etc. — It  should 
be  observed  that  this  Historia,  as  well  as 
the  Galfridian  Chronicles,  is  framed  upon 
the  plan  of  dissembling  the  island's  per- 
manent subjection  and  provincial  cha- 
racter, and  of  representing  those  Roman 
emperors  who  visited  it  as  the  only  ones 
who  ruled  it.  By  this  means  the  Britons 
of  the  fifth  century  appear  as  the  conti- 
nuing possessors  of  an  ancient  monarchy, 
which  seven  (or  nine)  Roman  intrusions 


had  chequered  and  interrupted,  not  as 
revolters  against  a  long-established  domi- 
nion. I  believe  Constans  to  be  the  last 
emperor,  not  depreciated  by  the  epithet  of 

"  tyranrius,"  who  was  in  Britannia 

(H.) 

d  Severus  the  second.— See  additional 
notes,  No.  XII. 

e  Four  hundred  and  nine  years. — li.  und 
L2.  read  three  hundred.  D.  reads  Nui 
m-bliciona  cpa  ap  cpi  cccc.,  where  the 
word  cpi  is  a  manifest  blunder.  The 
reading  of  L'.  has  been  followed,  as  it 
coincides  with  the  Latin  "Hucusque  reg- 
naverunt  Roman!  apud  Brittones  quad- 
ringentis  et  novem  annis." — (T.) 


72 

cpa  bpeacnaij  lapoam  neapc  l?omanach  -|  ni  capDpaD  cfp  na  cam 
Doib,  i  po  mapbpac  na  h-uile  caipeachu  Pomancu  po  baoaji  a 
n-inip  bpeacan. 

Gcpachc  imo|ipo  po  ceDoip  neapc  Cpuicneach  i  ^o606^  ^ap 
^poino  bpeacan  -]  pop  innapbpac  cop  in  n-abainD  Dianao  [amm] 
dn.  Oo  cuaoap  lapoain  ceachca  bpeacan  i  Romancaib  co  nftuba 
1  co  coppi  moip,  co  pocaib  pop  a  ceanDaib  i  co  peacaib  imDaib 
[leo],  na  po  DiglaDip  poppo  [na  coipij  Romanchu  po]  mapbao  Doib. 
Cugpacap  leo  mpDain  coipeachou  -]  conpalnu  Pomancu  -|  caipn- 

co  na  luja  DO  geboaip  in  mam  l?omanach  ciama  cpom. 
Do  pochaoap  lapoain  na  mileaoa  Romancu  -]  po  h-opoaijrea 
pigu  pop  imp  bpeacan,  -\  DO  cooap  na  ploig  lapDain  Dia 
njib.  17o  gab  peapg  i  cop  pi  u  bpeacnn  ap  cpuma  in  cfpa  -]  in 
mama  Romanaij  leo,  co  po  mapbpac  na  coipeachu  po  baoap  acu 
a  n-mip  bpeacan  Don  Dapa  cup.  Cu  n-epuchc  acu  neapc  Cpuich- 
neacli  -]  ^aeDel  cap  bpeacnn  DopiDaip  cop  bo  cpuma  ma  in  cam 
Pornan,  apoaig  a  n-Dicup  [uile]  ap  a  peapann  po  b'ail  Do  Cpuic- 
eancuac  "|  Do  ^aeioilaib. 

Do  cuanap  lapoain  bpeacnaig  co  rpnn^  -j  co  Deapramach  [in 
nipeacc  na  Pomanach],  ap  amlaio  ac  piacap  a  n-t>ul  [~|  a]  n-Dpo- 
manna  pompu  ap  imnriipe,  -|  cairnj  poclipaioe  mop  leo  .1.  pluag  Di- 
aipnnclie  Do  T?omancaib,  [•]]  po  gabcha  cpa  pigi  -\  coipeac  popo 

mpDain. 

f  But  afterwards  ....  Roman  poicer —      there  beiiij;  a  defect  of  perhaps  two  leaves 
L2.  omits  this  clause,   which  leaves   the      in  the  MS — (T.) 
sense  imperfect (T.)  k  Put  to  i/c/ttli    !>//  t/tcm. — L'.  and   B2. 

g  Name. — Added  from  L'.,  L2.,  B.  The      omit  ooib,  and  read  po  mupbpuc  (active) 
name  of  the  river  is  given  Din  in  L'.,  and      "whom  they  put  to  death." — (71) 
Inci  in  B.     L'-.  and  I),  read  Cm — (T.)  '  Promised. — L1.  mjelpuo. — (7*.) 

h  Along  with  them — The  word  leo   is           m  Than. — li.  L'.  unou. — (T.) 
added  from  B.,  L2 — (7'.)  n  Uecaitse — L1.  and   B.    Uuip  ip  e 

1  Chiefs  of  the  Romans Added   from      (7'.) 

L'.,  L2.,  and  B.     Here  IA  abruptly  stops,          °  To  the  Roman  Senate — Added  from 


73 

the  Britons  under  Roman  tribute.  But  afterwards  the  Britons  drove 
out  the  Roman  powerf,  and  did  not  pay  them  tax  or  tribute,  and  they 
killed  all  the  Roman  chiefs  that  were  in  the  island  of  Britain. 

Immediately,  however,  the  power  of  the  Cruitlmians  and  of  the 
Gaels  advanced  in  the  heart  of  Britain,  and  they  drove  them  to  the 
river  whose  names  is  Tin  \Tyne\.  There  went  afterwards  ambassa- 
dors from  the  Britons  to  the  Romans  with  mourning  and  great  grief, 
with  sods  on  their  heads,  and  with  many  costly  presents  along  with 
them",  to  pray  them  not  to  take  vengeance  on  them  for  the  chiefs  of 
the  Romans'  who  were  put  to  death  by  them".  Afterwards  Roman 
chiefs  and  consuls  came  back  with  them,  and  they  promised'  that 
they  would  not  the  less  willingly  receive  the  Roman  yoke,  however 
heavy  it  might  be. 

Afterwards  the  Roman  knights  came,  and  were  appointed  princes 
and  kings  over  the  island  of  Britain,  and  the  army  then  returned 
home.  Anger  and  grief  seized  the  Britons  from  the  weight  of  the 
Roman  yoke  and  oppression  upon  them,  so  that  they  put  to  death 
the  chieftains  that  were  with  them  in  the  island  of  Britain,  the 
second  time.  Hence  the  power  of  the  Cruitlmians  and  Gaels  in- 
creased again  over  the  Britons,  so  that  it  became  heavier  than1"  the 
Roman  tribute,  because0  their  total  expulsion  out  of  their  lands  was 
the  object  aimed  at  by  the  northern  Cruitlmians  and  Gaels. 

After  this  the  Britons  went  in  sorrow  and  in  tears  to  the  Roman 
senate0,  and  thus  we  are  told  they  went  with  their  backs  foremost  for 
shame  ;  and  a  great  multitude  returned  with  them,  i.  e.  an  innumerable 
army  of  Romans,  and  sovereignty  and  chieftainry  was  assumed1'  over 

them 

L1.  and  B — (T.)  require   coipi^euche,  stcay,  not  caipeuc, 

f  And  sovereignty  and  chieflainry  was  as-  a   chieftain;    but    if   \ve   read   jug    c'ftup 

sumed  over  them. — djup  added  from  B.  ccnpeac,     the    passage    will    signify    "a 

L'. ;  piji  7  caipis  D.  ;  pig  7  caipich,  L'.;  king  and  governor  was  set  over  them." — 

coipeach,  B.     Riji,  kingdom,  would  (T.) 

IRISH  ARCH.  SOC.   l6.  L 


74 

lapoain.     ba  cpom  cpa  le  bpeacnu  lapoain  in  cip  Romanac,  cop 
mapbpac  a  piga  ~|  a  caipiju  in  cpeap  peachc. 

Uangaoap  mpoain  plaici  Roman  cap  muip  cop  pemaiD  each 
?>imop  pompo  pop  bpeacnu,  gop  Oijailpfc  anaip  [a  n-oaine]  poppo, 
-|  cop  lomaipspfc  imp  bpeacan  im  a  h-op  -\  \m  ah-aipgeao,  co  puj- 
pac  leo  a  ppol  -]  a  pipig  -|  a  pina  -]  a  leapoaip  oip  -|  aipgio,  co 
noeachaoap  co  m-buait>  -|  copcaip  t>ia  cij. 

t>e  sasatais  sacsan  [poDeascaj  QNNSO. 

XV.  Oo  pain  cpa  lappin  each  pampaice  -|  lap  mapbat)  na 
roipeachtiu  Romanoucu  ba  cpi  la  bpeacnu  lap  cocaichim  t>oib 
pon  cip  Romanach  cccc.c°r  quaopagincinouem  annop.  ^opci- 
gepno  mac  ^uDail  t>o  ^abail  aipDpiji  bpeacan  ~\  co  copcpomfa 
h-e  o  uaman  Cpuchneachu  ~\  ^aeoel  "]  o  nipc  Qmpop  pig  ppane 
1  bpeacan  leaca. 

Uangubap 

que,  et  ad  vindicandum,  veniebant,  et 
spoliata  Brittannia  auro  argentoque,  cum 
a-re  et  omni  prcciosa  veste,  et  melle,  cum 
magno  triumpho  revertebantur."  For 
"  ad  vindicandum,"  some  MSS.  read,  "  ad 
vindictam  propinquorum,"  which  seems 
to  have;  been  the  reading  adopted  by  the 
Irish  translator. 

Immediately  after  this  section,  B.  has 
a  long  interpolation,  containing  the  Le- 
gend of  St.  Carnech,  which  will  be  found 
in  the  Append ix. — (T.) 

u  Here  foUoics. —  pooeapca,  added  from 
B.  This  word  is  often  written  buoupcu, 
and  more  commonly,  in  modern  Irish, 
peapoa ;  it  signifies  hereafter,  hencf/ur- 
v-ard. — (T.) 

v  Three  times  by  the  Britons. — 6a  cpi, 


''  Gained Lit.    "  broke  a  very  great 

battle  before  them  upon  the  Britons."   L'. 
reads  po  nioio.     B.  pomno. — (T.) 

r  Of  their  jii'iijiln. — Added  from  B.  and 
L'.-(7'.) 

5  Silk. — All  the  copies  here  read  a  pip i^ 
(ijjup  u  pmu,  but  these  words  both  sig- 
nify silk,  ppij  01-  pipic  being  the  corrupt. 
Latin,  and  poci  the  corresponding  Irish 
word,  added,  perhaps,  originally  as  an  ex- 
planation of  the  other (?'•) 

c  With  victor//. — L'.  reads  to  m-bua- 
oaib,  with  victories;  and  15.  omits  "vic- 
tory and  triumph,"  and  reads  only  ujup 
co  n-oeachuoup  oia  caij,  "and  so  they 
returned  home."  This  paragraph  is  a 
translation  of  the  following  in  Nennius  : 
'•  Romani  autem  ad  imperium  auxilium- 


75 

them  afterwards.  But  again  the  Roman  tribute  became  oppressive 
to  the  Britons,  so  that  they  slew  their  kings  and  chieftains  the  third 
time. 

Afterwards  there  came  Roman  chieftains  across  the  sea,  and 
gainedq  a  very  great  victory  over  the  Britons,  so  that  they  vindica- 
ted the  honour  of  their  peopler  upon  them,  and  they  plundered  the 
island  of  Britain  of  its  gold,  and  of  its  silver,  and  took  from  it  its 
satin,  and  its  silk5,  and  its  vessels  of  gold  and  silver,  so  that  they 
returned  home  with  victory'  and  triumph. 

HERE  FOLLOWS"  or  THE  CONQUEST  OF  THE  SAXONS. 

XV.  Now  it  came  to  pass  after  the  aforesaid  battle,  and  after 
the  slaughter  of  the  Roman  chieftains  three  times  by  the  Britons", 
after  they  had  been  four  hundred  and  forty-nine  years"  under  the 
Roman  tribute,  that  Gortigern,  son  of  Gudal,  took  the  chief  sove- 
reignty of  Britain,  and  he  was  oppressed  by  the  fear  of  the  Cruithnians 
and  Gaels,  and  by  the  power  of  Ambrose,  King  of  France*  and  Leta- 
vian  Britain. 

There 

D.  boo  rhpi,  L1.  for  pa  cpi,  three  times.  Vortigern  ;  but  Aurelius  is  not  elsewhere 

B.  reads  comba  pi  &pecan,  "that  there  described  as  having  any  sovereignty  in 

was  a  king  of  Britain." — (71.)  Gaul.  The  Latin  has  merely  "  necnon 

w  Four  hundred  and  forty-nine  years et  a  timore  Ambrosii."  But  even  those 

ix  bliaoan  .;rl.  ap  .cccc.  L.  B.  reads  VE  words  are  so  inconsistent  with  what  fol- 

m-bliaona  .;cl.  ap  .ccc.,  and  the  same  lows,  as  to  make  them  suspicious,  though 

variation  between  three  hundred  and  four  all  copies  are  agreed  in  them.  For  there 

hundred,  is  to  be  found  in  the  Latin  co-  are  two  schemes  concerning  Ambrose,  one 

pies  of  Nennius. — (T.)  identifying  him  with  Merlin,  and  another 

*  King  of  France,  etc. — Aurelius  Am-  making  them  distinct  persons.  But  Nen- 

brosius,  with  his  brother,  Uthyr  Pendra-  nius  adopts  the  former  (which  is  the  bar- 

gon,  are  said  to  have  taken  refuge  in  die)  scheme,  and  accordingly  introduces 

Britanny,  and  to  have  sailed  from  thence  the  prophet  Ambrose  in  the  form  of  a 

to  Totness,  when  they  declared  against  young  boy,  at  a  period  subsequent  to  that 

L2 


76 


Uarrguoap  cpi  cuile  ap  in  5ealimain  -1-  CP1  bapca  pop  moapba 
i  pabatmp  na  l>o  bpacaip  .1.  Opp  ~[  Gngipc  o  puilic  Sajtrain  ;  ipe 
peo  imoppa  a  njjeinealac  .1.  Opp  -]  Gngipc  t>a  mac  ^ueccilip, 
rnic  ^uigce,  m\c  5uec^ca1>  mic  5uca>  Inic  £>°Oen,  mic  Ppealaib, 
nnc  P]ieooilb,  mic  pinoe,  mic  ppeann,  mic  polcball,  mic  ^5aeca> 
rnic  Uanle,  nnc  Sa^i,  mic  Neag. 

bpirap  mac  Olonn  o  caic  bpeacain  in  Ceacha,  mic  6olonn, 

mic 

in  which  Vortigern  is  said  to  be  in  dread  of  a  more  extensive  subsidiary  treaty,  or 

of  him  as  a  warrior.     Therefore,  there  is  we  must  discredit  the  statement, 
interpolation  in  all  the  transcripts,  unless          In  point  of  fact,  the  statement  has  no 

we  conclude  the  author  not  to  have  known  other  authority  than  what  it  derives  from 


what  he  was  talking  about. — (//.) 


an  involved  sentence  of  Gildas,  which,  as 


•v  Three   ciulce. — The    word    cftiula,   or  pointed  in  the  editions   (Mr.  Stevenson's 

cyida,  seems  to  be  the  same    as  keel  in  included),  has  no  grammar  or  meaning  ; 

English,   German  kiel,  Swedish  kol,  Ice-  but  which  reads  thus,  with  a  long  paren- 

landic   kioll  or  kiolr,    Anglo-Saxon  cfi'le.  thesis  :  "  Turn  erumpens  grex  catulorum 

They  were   the  boats  used   by   the  Ger-  de  cubili   leaMia-   barbaria1  tribus  nt  lin- 


mans.   Mr.  Turner  supposes  each  t-)  have 
carried  one  hundred  men  ;  and  Layamon 


gua  ejus  e.xprimitur  cyidig  nostra  lingua 
loiuj'us  [navibus,  interpolated  I  believe,  the 


asserts  their  number  to  have  been  such,  kiul  of  the  low  Dutch  being  the  lloug  of 
"threo  hundred  cnihten."  History  Anglo-  the  Britisli  language.  If  navibus  be  not 
Sax.  i.  245.  Layamon,  eit.  ibid.  Nen- 
nius,  however,  hud  previously,  in  cap.  xi. 
(vii.  Gale)  described  a  chiula  as  carry- 


(as I  suppose)  a  simple  interpolation,  it, 
should  have  run  thus,  '  Latina  vero,  navi- 
bus'J,  secundis  veils,  secundo  omine  atigu- 


ing  but  sixty  persons.  The  three  boats  riisque  (quibus  vatieinabatur  certo  apud 
could  evidently  bring  over  no  force,  capa-  eum  pra;sagio,  quod  ter  centum  annis 
We  of  influencing  the  fortunes  of  Britan-  terram,  cni  proras  librabat,  insideret,  cen- 
tum vero  quinquaginta,  hoe  est  dimidio 
temporis,  sajpius  quoque  vastaret)  evectns 


nia,  whose  shores  and  northern  frontiers 
were  continually  assailed,    and  of  whose 


petty  princes,    sometimes    called    kings,  primum  in  orientali  parte  insulae,  jubente 

the  number  must  probably  have,  exceeded  infausto  tyranno,  terribiles  infixit  ungues, 

that.     Therefore,  we  must  either  under-  quasi  pro  patria  pugnaturus,  sed  earn  cer- 

stand  that  the  arrival  of  the  three  cyuls  tius  impugnaturus." — Cap.   23.     If  this 

was  a  mere  personal  introduction  of  Hen-  sentence  contains  the  statement  in  ques- 

gist  to  Vortigern,  and  so  became  the  basis  tion,  that  statement  exists  ;  but  if  it  be 


77 


There  came  three  ciula3y  out  of  Germany  (i.e.  three  barks)  into 
exile,  in  which  were  the  two  brothers,  Ors  and  Engistz,  from  whom 
are  the  Saxons ;  this  is  their  genealogy,  viz.  :  Ors  and  Engist  icere 
the  two  sons  of  Guectilis,  the  son  of  Guigte,  son  of  Guecta,  son 
of  Guta,  son  of  Boden,  son  of  Frealaif,  son  of  Fredolf,  son  of  Finn, 
son  of  Freann,  son  of  Folcbhall,  son  of  Gaeta,  son  of  Vanli,  son  of 
Saxi,  son  of  Neag". 

Britas,  son  of  Olori,  from  whom  are  the  Britons  of  Leatha",  was 

the 


riot  expressed  in  this  sentence,  it  hath  no 
real  existence,  however  many  may  have 
repeated  it.  The  inflated  phrase,  "  ter- 
ribiles  infixit  ungues,"  seems  to  speak  of 
some  effective  force,  rather  than  of  a  tri- 
ning  retinue  ;  and,  therefore,  a  doubt  may 
exist,  whether  de  cubili  is  governed  by 
qrex,  or  whether  we  should  not  punctuate 
it  "grex  catulorum,  de  cubili  leamaj  bar- 
barife  Iribus"  (nom.  case),  a  tribe.  The 
less  elegant  arrangement  of  words  is  a 
minor  objection,  in  a  work  of  such  obscure 
and  rugged  Latinity,  and  in  a  sentence 
which  actually  appears  to  have  undergone 
some  alteration.  If  this  be  not  so,  that 
first  arrival  of  Hengist  was  merely  a 
diplomatic,  not  a  military,  affair — (11.) 

1  Engist — ©'JIT'  L1.  1).  reads  f^igipc 
and  6igipc,  throughout,  which  is  evi- 
dently a  transcriber's  blunder — (T.) 

a  Neag This  genealogy  is  given  in  B., 

with  no  variation  except  in  the  spelling  of 
some  of  the  names,  thus : — Ors  and  Engist, 
Guechtiles,  Guigte,  Guecta,  Gutta,  Uoden, 
Freolap,  Freodulb,  Finn,  Frend,  Folc- 
bhall, Getta,  Vanli,  Saxan,  Negua.  In 


L1.  it  is  given  thus  :  Hors  and  Eigis, 
Guectilis,  Guiti,  Guitechtai,  Gutai,  Uoden, 
Frelab,  Reaulb,  Finn,  Freann,  Bolcal], 
Gota,  Uanli,  Saxi,  Negua.  In  the  Latin 
copies,  Frend,  Vanli,  Saxan,  and  Negua 
are  omitted,  and  after  Geta  is  added,  "  qiii 
fuit  ut  aiunt  filius  Dei.  Non  ipse  est 
Deus  Beorum,  Amen,  Deus  exercituuni, 
sed  unus  est  ab  idolis  eorum,  qua?  ipsi  ct<- 
lebant."— (T.) 

b  Britas,  son  of  Olon,  from  whont  <//•<• 
the  Britons  of  Leatha. — These  won!-  an 
omitted  in  L1.  and  B.,  and  the  genealogy 
here  given  to  Britas  follows  on  as  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  genealogy  of  Or*  and 
Engist  ;  the  names  are  given  thus  in  B.  : 
Alan,  Fethur,  Ogaman,  Tho,  Bodhb,  Se- 
inobh,  Etacht,  Aoth,  Abir,  Ivaa,  Erra, 
Joban,  Jonan,  Jafetli,  Noe.  In  L1.  they 
are  given  thus  :  Alan,  Fetur,  Ogaman, 
Dai,  Bodb,  Semoth,  Etacht,  Athacht, 
Abir,  Kaa,  Esra,  Joban,  Jonan,  Jal'elli. 
See  the  genealogy  of  Britus  already  given 
sec.  IV,  supra,  where,  besides  some  varia- 
tions of  spelling,  Isacon  is  inserted  be- 
tween Alawn  and  Britus. — (T.)  Alawn, 


78 

mic  peinuip,  mic  O^amam,  mic  Cai,  no  "Ceo,  mic  6oib,  mic  Sem- 
boib,  mic  Qcheacr,  mic  Qoch,  mic  Cfbaip,  mic  17aa,  mic  Gappa, 
mic  loban,  mic  lonan,  mic  lapech,  mic  Nae. 

^oipci^epmi  cpa  po  sabapDaip  h-i  pio  [a  Roman]  neapcCpuich- 
neac,  -\  t>o  paD  Ooib  inn  imp  DianaD  ainim  Ueinerh,  T?oinn  imoppo 
amm  bpeacnach.  5liaDmn  ~\  aeclll'c  ]  r]5e  T?omori  an  inbaio  pin. 
O  gem  Cpipr  imoppo  .1.  ccc.^lun.  annop,  -]  in  aimpip  in  pig  pin  .1. 
^opcijepno,  rainij  5eaPman  iaem  Do  ppoicepc  a  n-imp  bpeacan, 
[ajup  DO  pigni  Oia  peapca  ajup  mipbaile  im6a  ap  in  clepec  pin 
in  imp  bpecan],  -|  po  ic  pochaioe  -]  oop  pug  po  baichip  -]  cpeiDim. 

t>e  peaRcai6  ^eaRmaiw  QNM  so  sis. 

XVI.  lap  ciachcam  Do  ^eapman  in  n-inip  bpearan  Do  cuaiD 
no  nunao  in  copaD  DianaD  amm  berili  t>o  ppoceapc  Do.  Uapap- 

Daip 


thore  written  Alnnius,  and  here  Olou  or 
Eolonn,  was  a  famous  name  among  the  Ar- 
morican  Britons,  though  less  used  among 
those  of  the  island. — (//.) 

c  Son  of  Eolonn. — This  is  an  erroneous 
repetition,  Olou  and  Eolonn  are  obviously 
the  same — ( T.) 

d  Now  Gortiyern,  etc. — The  Latin  has 
nothing  about  Vortigern  governing  the 
Picts.  But  the  Galfridian  chronicle  re- 
presents him  as  indebted  to  Pictish  mer- 
cenaries for  his  crown,  vi.  cap.  7.  Whence 
Gale  conjectured  him  to  have  been  ge- 
nere  Pictus,  p.  129.— (H.)  The  words  a 
Roman,  are  added  from  B — (2T.) 

e  Roinn Printed  also  Ruoihin,  Eui- 

chun,  Ruoichin,  Euithina,  etc.,  etc.  Mr. 
J.  Lewis  supposes  that  Thanet  was  called 


Inis  Kuochim,  from  the  town  of  Ruoeh, 
now  Rich,  <>r  Richborough. — History  of 
Tenet,  p.  2. — (//.)  B.  reads,  Cenec  and 
TJohm.  L'.  Cenenech  and  T?opn.  The 
Latin  (Stevenson's  text),  is  "  et  tradidit 
eis  insulam,  (jua;  in  lingua  eoruin  vocatur 
Tanet,  Brittanico  serinone  Ruoihin." — 
The  verl),  paouim,  bears  a  remarkable 
resemblance  to  the  Latin,  trado,  which 
it  is  here  used  to  translate.  But  the 
Irish  puo,  pac,  to  y/'ce,  is  a  simple  root, 

and  trrulu  a  compound  of  trans  and  do 

(T.) 

'  Gnttlian  and  Acquit. — ^pacion  ajjup 
Gqmc,  B.  5Pulolan  usup  Bijech,  L'. 
Gratianus  (the  first  emperor  of  the  name) 
and  Equitius  were  consuls,  A.  D.  374.  See 
Baron,  (in  anno)  n.  i.  But  the  true  read- 


79 

the  son  of  Eolonnc,  son  of  Feithiver,  son  of  Ogaman,  son  of  Tai,  or 
Teo,  son  of  Bob,  son  of  Sembob,  son  of  Athacht,  son  of  Aoth,  son 
of  Abar,  son  of  Raa,  son  of  Eassa,  son  of  Joban,  son  of  Jonan,  son  of 
Jafeth,  son  of  Noe. 

Now  Gortigernd  held  in  peace,  under  the  Romans,  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Cruithnians,  and  he  gave  up  to  them  [i.  e.  to  the  Saxons], 
the  island  whose  name  is  Teineth  \Tlianef\,  but  Roinne  is  its  British 
name.  Gradian  and  Aequitf  were  in  the  sovereignty  of  the  Romans 
at  that  time.  But  it  was  from  the  birth  of  Christ,  three  hundred  and 
forty-seven  years  ;  and  it  was  in  the  time  of  that  king,  viz.,  of  Gor- 
tigern,  that  Saint  German  came  to  preach  in  the  island  of  Britain, 
and  God  wrought8  miracles  and  many  wonders  by  this  ecclesiastic 
in  the  island  of  Britain,  and  he  healed  many,  and  brought  them 
under  baptism  and  faith". 

OF  THE  MlliACLES  OF  GERMAN  HERE. 

XVI.  After  the  arrival  of  German  in  the  island  of  Britain,  he 
went  to  the  fortress  of  the  warrior  whose  name  was  Benli'1.  to  preach 

to 

ing  of  the  Latin  is  Gratiano  Secuudo,  or          g  God  wrought island  of  Jiritnin. 

Gratiano  Secuudo  ^Equantio.  See  Gain's  —This  clause  is  added  from  L1.  and  B. 
Edit.  c.  28,  with  the  var.  Leet.,  and  Addi-  The  mission  of  St.  German  to  Britain 
tional  Notes,  No.  XII.  In  this  manner  the  was  undertaken  for  the  purpose  of  check- 
anachronism  is  mitigated  by  33  years.  In  ing  the.  Pelagian  heresy,  and  is  recorded 
the  date  which  follows,  L'.  reads,  peachc  by  Prosper  in  his  Chronicle,  under  the 
mbliaonu  ,;rl.  ap.  ccc.,  but  B.  reads,  pecc  year  430. — (T.)  See  Additional  Notes, 
m-bliaona  .ccl.  ap  .ccc.,  where  .ccl.  is  No.  XIII. 

an  evident  mistake  for  .pel.     Mr.  Steven-  h  Faith. — For    po  bairhip  ajjup  cpei- 

son,  in  the  text  of  his  edition  of  Nennius,  oim,     L1.    reads    po    baichip    baipDi    DO 

reads  447,   and  mentions  in  the  note  that  gpep,   where    baipDi    seems    redundant  ; 

the  MSS.   read  variously,  337,  448,  400,  DO  gpep  signifies,  always,  for  ever — (T.) 

and  347 (T.)  '  Benli.— Geinoli,  D — (T.) 


8o 


Daip  ^eapman  co  na  ppuichib  in  n-oopup  in  DunaiD  ;  DO  com  in 
Doippiji  cop  in  pi$  im  camjjen  in  cleipig,  po  paiD  in  pig  co  na  luiji 
Dia  m-bech  na  cleipig  co  cenD  m-bliaDna  in  n-Dopap  in  Dunaig  ni 
coppio  apoeach.  Uainig  in  ooippeoip  cop  in  ppea^pa  pin  Do  cum 
^eapmam.  Uainig  ^capman  o'n  Dopap  aniach  epoch  peapcaip, 
1  ni  piDip  conaip  no  paga.  Uanij  aen  DO  mojaDaib  in  pij  ap  in 
caichpis  amac,  -|  po  raiphip  a  piaonaipi  5eapmain,  -|  pop  pug  leip 
DO  cum  a  boirhe  co  cam  agup  co  pailio,  ~\  ni  poibe  0151  DO  cpoD  ace 
aen  bo  co  na  laej,  ~\  po  mapb  in  laej,  -\  beapb,  -]  Do  paD  Do  na 
cleipcib.  Cfgup  po  paiD  ^eapman  na  po  hpipoip  a  cnama  ;  agup 
ap  na  maipeach  cpa  po  maip  in  laej  a  piaDnaipi  a  machap. 

Do  COID  5ePman  °°  Dopup  na  cairpac  lap  na  rhaipeac  DO 
h-eapnaiDi  agallaim  in  pig.  Ip  ann  pin  carn^  peap  i  n-a  pich,  -]  pe 
Ian  DO  allap  o  cino  co  I)onD,  ~\  po  caipinD  Do  ^eapman  ;  acbeapc 

^eapman 


J  At  lite  door  of  the  fortress — 1  n-oopup 
ttn  oume,  B.  in  nopup  in  Diinuio,  D.,  omit- 
ting the  eclipsed  D  in  the  word  n-oopup. 
t3un,  which  signifies  a  fort  or  fortress, 
and  which  occurs  in  the  composition  of 
so  many  topographical  names  in  Ireland, 
is  inflected  oume,  and  also  ounaio  or 
ounai^,  in  the  genitive  ;  this  latter  form 
occurs  in  D.  throughout,  and  has  been 
retained  in  the  text.  B.  adopts  the  form 
ouine.  This  word  seems  cognate  with 
the  English  ton,  or  tou~n,  and  with  the 
Welsh  Din,  Dinas (T.) 

k  The  kitty  said  with  an  oath B.  omits 

the  clause,  po  paio  in  pij  cona  luiji 
oia  m-bech  na  cleipij,  to  the  manifest 
loss  of  the  sense. — (T.) 

1  To  German. — Docum  in  5ePrnaln 
ceona,  B.  "  To  the  same  [or  the  afore- 


said] German." — (?'•) 

m  Came  away — B.  reads  Cuinic  pep- 
cup  nonu  pen,  agup  nip  peopabap  cio  no 
pujaoaip ;  which  is  more  close  to  the 
Latin,  "  Dies  declinabat  ad  vesperum,  et 
nox  appropinquabat,  et  nescierunt  quo 
irent.'—  ('/'.) 

n  One  (if  the  servants,  etc. — The  word 
mo^,  serfux,  is  generally  used  to  denote 
a  labouring  man,  a  slave,  a  hewer  of  wood 
and  drawn-  of  water,  one  of  the  lowest 
class ('/'.) 

0  Out  of  the  fortress — CIp  in  curpuij 
dtnucli.  The  Latin  is,  "e  medio  urbis." 
The  Irish  word  caraip,  which  is  here  used 
to  translate  the  Latin  urbs,  is  employed 
in  ancient  MSS.  to  denote  a  stone  fort.  It 
afterwards  was  applied  to  a  walled  town, 
as  Limerick,  Waterford,  Ac.,  and  is  now 


8t 


to  him.  German  stopped  with  his  clerics  at  the  door  of  the  fortress'. 
The  porter  went  to  the  king  with  the  message  of  the  clergyman  ; 
the  king  said,  with  an  oath",  that  if  the  clergy  were  to  remain  until 
the  end  of  a  year  at  the  door  of  the  fort,  they  should  not  come  in. 
The  porter  came  with  this  answer  to  German1.  German  came  away"1 
from  the  door  in  the  evening,  and  did  not  know  what  road  he  should 
go.  But  one  of  the  servants"  of  the  king  came  out  of  the  fortress0, 
and  bowed  downp  before  German,  and  brought  him  with  him  to  his 
cabin  kindly  and  cheerfully*1.  And  he  had  no  cattle1  but  one  cow  with 
her  calf,  and  he  killed  the  calf,  and  boiled  it,  and  gave  it  to  the  cler- 
gymen. And  German  ordered  that  its  bones  should  not  be  broken  ; 
and  on  the  morrow  the  calf  was  alive8  in  the  presence  of  its  dam. 

On  the  next  day  German  repaired  to  the  door  of  the  fortress 
to  pray  an  interview'  with  the  king.     And  then  there  came  a  man 

running 

lib)  means  joyfully,  cheerfully.  The 
Latin  is  benigne,  which  is  more  nearly 
rendered  by  co  cam  —  (2'.) 

r  He  had  no  cuttle.  —  Ni  po  bui  accu 
DI  cpuo,  B.  The  Latin  is  "  Et  ille  nihil 
habebat  de  omnibus  geiieribus  jumento- 
rum."  The  word  cpu6  or  cpob  here- 
used,  signifying  cattle,  is  the  origin  of  the 
word  Cro,  Croo,  or  Croy,  in  our  old  laws, 
denoting  a  fine,  mulct,  or  satisfaction  for 
murder,  manslaughter,  or  other  crimes, 
such  fines  having  anciently  been  paid 
in  cattle.  See  Du  Cange  in  voce  CRO  ; 
Jamicson's  Scottish  Dictionary  in  voce; 
and  Ware's  Irish  Antiquities,  by  Har- 


used  to  denote  a  city,  as  distinguished 
from  baile,  a  town,  or  baile  mop,  a 
large  tmcn. — (T.) 

p  Bowed  down — po  caipbip  in  D.,  and 
po  piece  in  B.,  to  translate  the  Latin, 
"  inclinavit  se."  The  verb  cuipbip,  to 
prostrate,  or  bow  down  the  body,  is  now 
obsolete,  and  is  not  explained  in  any  of 
the  Dictionaries;  but  piece,  to  kneel,  or, 
as  now  written  by  the  moderns,  pleucc 
or  pleucc,  is  still  in  use — (T.) 

q  Brought  him cheerfully — Rop 

pug  in  D.,  and  poo  puc,  in  B.  are  only 
varied  spelling  of  the  same  words,  and 
signify  "  he  brought."  In  modern  Irish, 
oo  cuj.  D.  reads  co  cam  puipeach. 
B.  reads  co  pailib,  which  has  been  sub- 
stituted in  the  text  for  puipeach.  Co 
pailio  (in  modern  orthography  50  paoi- 

IRISH  AECH.  SOC.   1 6.  M 


5  Was  alive  —  Ro  bai  in  laej  beo,  B. 
-(T.) 

c  An  interview.  —  Gcallmai,  B.  —  (T.) 


82 


in  cpeiDi  in  naem  cpinnoio.  CpeiDim  oppe ;  pon  baipD 
J5eapman  •]  DO  jiac  poic  Do,  -]  po  paio  pip,  eipig,  anopa  acbela,  acaic 
aingil  Oe  ag  c'  upnaioe  ;  -]  Do  [com]  paeligipin  n-Dun,  ~\  po  mapbaD 
lap  in  pig  ;  Daig  ba  bep  leip  in  pig  mapbaD  each  oume  Dia  mumn- 
cip  no  coirceao  pe  copgabail  gpeme  DC  Deanam  obpe  in  Ouine. 

T?o  caic  Jleapman  in  la  co  h-aiDci  a  n-Dopup  in  OunaiD,  co  co- 
pacc  an  mog  ceDna.  Cfc  bertpc  ^eapman  pip,  pomna,  pomna  na 
poib  neac  DOD  muinDcip  ip  in  Dim  po  anochc.  UugapDaip  po  cea- 
Doip  in  nonbup  mac  Do  [bai  occa]  pa  Dun  call,  ~\  pug  in  cleipeach 
leip  Dia  cig  [oopipi],  -|  DO  ponpac  inle  ppichaipe.  Co  canig  ceme 
Oe  DO  mm  po  ceDoip  ip  in  rt-oun  cop  loipc  [lucr  na  cacpac]  ecep 
rnnaib  -|  pipu,  mill  Duini  ap  peipg  De  ~|  ^epniam  ;  ~)  ip  pap  cop  aniu. 

lap  na  maipeach  imoppo,  po  baipDiD  in  mog  ur  co  n-a  macaib 
1  co  luchr  in  cipe  apceana,  po  beanDachc  ^eapm«n  [e]  co  n-a 
clainD.  Caiceal  a  ainm,  -|  baD  pig  [e],  -]  baDap  piga  a  meic  cpe 

bpechip 


"  From  head  to  foot. — O  h-ino,  D.  In 
modern  Irish  the  orthography  would  lx-, 
o  ceann  50  bonn. — (T.) 

v  Knelt. — Slecc,  B.  Sec  note  ''.  D. 
reads  caipmo,  whicli  is  perhaps  a  form 
of  the  old  verb  caipbip  used  before,  un- 
less there  be  some  error  of  the  MS.  The 
Latin  is  "  inclinavit,"  and  B.  reads  po 
r-lecr  in  both  places — (T.) 

w  /  believe.- — D.  reads  here  Cpeic  DO, 
corruptly,  and  omits  in  before  nuern  Cpi- 
noic  :  the  text  is  corrected  from  B.  15. 
reads  olpe.— (T.) 

x  Said  unto  him — Qcbepc  ppip,  B. 

y  He  went  into  the  fortress. — D.  omits 
the  essential  word  coio.  B.  reads  t)o 
coib  padib  ip  in  ounao.  D.  has  ip  in  nun, 
corruptly  for  ip  in  n-oun. — (T.) 


7-  Was  accustomed — Literally,  "  It  was  a 
custom  with  the  king."  oo'n  pi£,  B — (T.) 

11  Did  not  coiiie. — Coippeuo,  B. — (T.) 

b  Before  sunrise — l?e  cup^ub'uil  njjpe- 
ne,  B.  The  Latin  is  "  ante  solis  ortum," 
from  which  it  is  plain  that  the  preposi- 
tion pe  is  lien:  used  for  pid  or  poirii, 
before.  Cupjabail  jpeine  is  a  phrase 
which  is  now,  as  Mr.  O' Donovan  informs 
me,  obsolete  in  every  part  of  Ireland;  but 
it  was  in  use  in  Keating's  time,  who  in 
his  Treatise  Gocliaip  pjiur  in  Clipppmn, 
has,  o  cupjjab'uil  jjpeme  jjo  a  putmo, 
"  from  the  rising  of  the  sun  to  its  set- 
ting." Keating  also  sometimes  uses  pe 
in  the  sense  of  pia,  as  pe  n-Oilinn,  "  be- 
fore the  deluge."— (T.) 

0  Till  night. — B.  reads,   TCo   ccur 


83 

running,  and  full  of  sweat  from  head  to  foot" ;  and  he  knelt7  to  Ger- 
man, and  German  said,  "  Dost  thou  believe  in  the  Holy  Trinity  ?" 
and  he  replied,  "  I  believe™."  And  German  baptized  him  and  gave 
him  a  kiss  :  and  he  said  unto  himx,  "  Arise,  now  thou  shalt  die,  and 
the  angels  of  God  are  awaiting  thee."  And  he  went  cheerfully  into 
the  fortressy,  and  was  put  to  death  by  the  king,  for  the  king  wras 
accustomed8  to  put  to  death  every  one  of  his  people  that  did  not 
come"  before  sun-riseb  to  do  the  work  of  the  palace. 

German  passed  the  whole  of  that  day  till  night0  at  the  door  of 
the  fortress,  until  the  same  [i.  e.  the  first  mentioned]  servant  came  ; 
and  German  said  to  him,  "  Take  care,  take  cared  that  none  of  thy 
people  be  in  this  fortress  this  night."  He  immediately  brought  out 
with  him  the  nine  sons  he  had  in  the  fortress,  and  he  brought  the 
clergyman  with  him  to  his  house  again;  and  they  all  kept  watch. 
And  the  fire  of  Gode  immediately  came  from  heaven  upon  the  for- 
tress, so  that  it  burned  the  people  of  the  fortress,  both  men  and 
women,  one  thousand  persons,  through  the  anger  of  God  and  of  Ger- 
man; and  it  remains  a  ruin  to  the  present  day. 

On  the  following  day  this  servant',  with  his  sons  and  the  people 
of  the  district,  in  like  manner  were  baptized ;  and  German  blessed 
him  and  his  childreng.  His  name  was  Caiteal,  and  through  the 

word 

mam  co  h-aioci.     D.  has  po  caie  5eP~  exactly  translates   the  Latin,    "ignis  de 

mam  in  la  con  aiche,   which  is  corrupt.  coclo."     Ceine  De,   "  the  fire  of  God,"  is 

The  text  has  been  corrected   from   both  used  to  denote  lightning,  and  is  sometimes 

MSS (T.)  written  ceme  Diaic,  i(/nls Divinus. — (T.) 

d  Take  care — Pomnai,  B.,  which  is  not  f  This  servant. — B.  reads,  po  baipc^ep- 
repeated.  The  Latin  is  "  Cave  ne  unus  ho-  mam  in  peap  pin;  "German  baptized 
mo  nianeat  de  hominibus  tuis  in  ista  nocte  this  man."  The  Latin  is,  "  In  erastino 
in  arce."  The  words  enclosed  in  brackets  die  ille  vir,  qui  hospitalis  fuit  illis,  crc- 
in  the  Irish  text  are  all  supplied  from  B.  didit,  et  baptizatus  est,"  &c. — (T.) 
( T.)  g  Him  and  Ids  children The  pronoun 

e  Fire  of  'God. — Uene  oo  mm,  B.,  which  [e]  is  here  supplied  as  necessary  to  the 

M2 


84 

bpechip  ^eapmain,  -]  a  pil  o  pin  ale,  ip  in  peapann  t)ianaD  airnn 
Pojup  ;  uc  Dicirup  ip  na  palmain,  [Supaeanp  a  ceppa  inopem,  ec 
De  pcepcope  epigenp  paupepem.] 

XVII.  Saxain  imoppo  in  n-mip  Ueinech,  -]  5°PCI5eIlriri  occa 
m-biachao  -|  50  n-eicuiD  Sa^ain  co  caichaijjpec  nap  a  cenn  pe 
Cjiuirencuach.  Opo  imDaigibap  [cpa]  So;rain,  popeimiDpear  bpe- 
cain  a  m-biauhao  nac  a  n-eir>io,  ace  po  pogaippeac  bpearnaig 
[ooib]  Dulap  inte. 

T?o  ppeagaip  [ooib  immoppo]  Gnjipc,  peap  paije  popcje,  cuai- 
ceall,  poill,  ap  ac  connaipc  pe  bpeacnu  co  pann  gan  miliDa  jan 
apma,  ip  pea6  po  pam  ppip  in  pig  ^oprigepnn  DO  cpunpaD  :  Oe- 
nam  Deg  comapli,  najap  uamo  ip  in  n^eapmain  ap  ceant>  mileaD 
co  pabam  pochaioaibe  a  n-a^ait)  ap  namao.  Qcbepc  <5opci- 
geaprin  a  n-t>ola  na  reachra  ap  cenn  mileaD;  [•)  Do  coap]  ;  -|  DO 
pochpaDap  occ  longa  Deg  [co]  miboaib  cogaiDe  ap  a  ^eapmain. 
Ip  in  loinjeap  pin  rainij  a  in^ean  co  h-Gngipc,  ip  ipme  ba  caime 
DO  mnaib  Lochlainne  uile. 

lap  pin 

sense.     B.  omits  e  con-a  claino,   so  that  ''  O  peinuop  tDiapincioa  tDuinn, 
the  meaning  will  he,  in  that  MS.,   "and  Plic  peap^upa,  ITHC  Chonuill, 

German   blessed  tliu  people  of  that  coun-  O  bpeicip  Ruubuin  D'U  roi^;, 

try."     Instead    of   Caiceal   u   amm,   15.  Ni  paiB  pi(^  u  o-Ceariipai^." 

reads,   Caicel  umm  in  rip  pin  :   in    what 

1  "  I'rom  the  rvign  of  Dennot,  tlic  bruwn-Amrea, 

follows  [e]  is  supplied  after  pij  from  B.,          Sl)11  of  F,.rK113)  son  ()f  (>nal1i 

and  baoap  instead  of  bcift,  the  reading  of  On  aivmmt  nf  the  WDH!  [curs,']  of  Kuadan  to  his 

1).      B.  omits   a  meic  after  buOap   pi£(»,  houw, 

which  is  evidently  corrupt (T.)  rhi!n  was  ""  kill«  at  T:lr'1-" 

h  The  word. — 6piarap  (in  the  dative  or  — (T-} 

ablative  bpeirip)  when  thus  applied  may  '  Pogus — pau^up,  B.     In   the  Latin, 

signify  either  a  blessing  or  a  curse.  That  it      "  Kegio  Povisorum,"  Patch (T.) 

signifies  sometimes  a  curse  is  evident  from  k  Paupcrem.     Ps.  cxii.  7.     The  Latin 

the  following  quatrain  which  occurs  in  a  words  within  brackets  are  supplied  from 

MS.  in  Trinity  College,  Dublin.  (H.  i.  17.      B.,  being  omitted  in  D (T.) 

tbl.  97.  b.)  :  i  The  Saxons.— Occa,  from  B.,  is  sub- 


85 

word"  [i.  e.  blessing]  of  German,  he  became  a  king,  and  his  sons  be- 
came kings,  and  their  seed  have  ever  since  been  in  the  land  called 
Pogus!;  ut  dicitur  in  the  psalms,  suscitans  a  terra  inopem,  et  de 
stercore  erigens  pauperem". 

XVII.  Now,  the  Saxons  remained  in  the  Isle  of  Teineth  [ Thanef], 
and  Gortigern  was  feeding  and  clothing  the  Saxons1,  that  they  might 
fight  for  him  against™  Pictland.  But°  when  the  Saxons  had  multi- 
plied, the  Britons  not  only  refused  to  feed  or  clothe  them,  but  the 
Britons  warned  them  all  to  go  away. 

But  Hengist0,  who  was  an  experienced,  wise,  cunning,  and  subtle 
man,  made  answer  to  them  (for  he  saw  that  the  Britons  were  feeble 
without  soldiers,  without  arms),  and  he  said  to  the  King  Gortigern  in 
private*5:  "  Let  us  make  good  counsel;  let  us  send  into  Germany  for 
soldiers,  that  we  may  be  numerousq  against  our  enemies."  Gorti- 
gern answered,  "  Let  ambassadors  go  for  soldiers ;"  and  they  wentr ; 
and  there  came  eighteen  ships  with  chosen  soldiers  out  of  Germany. 
In  this  fleet5  came  his  daughter  to  Hengist :  she  was  the  fairest  of 
the  women  of  all  Lochland'. 

After 

stituted  for  co,  D.    IX  also  reads  co  neoip  ticular."     D.   reads    DO    cunpao,  fur    DO 

corruptly,  for  which  '50  n-eiciuo,  which      c-punpao,  omitting  the  eclipsed  letter 

literally  means,  "a  clothing  them,"  is  sub-  (T.) 

stituted  from  B.     For  cmthaigpec,  both          q  Numerous Socpaioe  oun  a  n-ajuio, 

D.  and  B.  read  caichui^eachc (T.)  B (T.) 

m  Against — TJe,  for  which  D.  reads  pij,  r  They  went. — t)o  coap  (generally  writ- 

a  manifest  slip  of  the  scribe.     Cpuiren-  ten  cuap)  added  from  B.,  where  we  read 

cuaic,  Pictland,  the  country  of  the  Cruith-  700  coop,    7    oo  poctaoap.     Co  is  also 

nigh.     In  D.  Cpuicneach-cuaic — (T.)          added  from  B.  before  miliouib (T.) 

n  But. — The  words  within  brackets  in  s  In  this  fleet. — Here  the  imperfection 

this  sentence  are  inserted  from  B — (T.)  in   the  Book   of  Lecan   ends.     The  text 

0  Hengist — ©i5Tc,  £>•  For  peap  paije.  has  been  corrected  from  the  three  MSS. 

B.  reads  corruptly,  ppipioe  ;  paige  would  which  read,  Ip  in  loinj,  D.    Ip  in  lomjip, 

be  more  correctly  written  pioe. — (T.)  B.     Ip  anopa  lomjjeap  pin,  L. — (T.) 

f  In  private. — Incanpuo,  B.,   "  in  par-  c  Lackland. — This  name   is    here  evi- 


86 


lappin  imoppa  DO  pigne  Gngifr  pleao  [mop]  t>o  5°rci5eTlnri  "1 
Dice  pliiag  if  in  ng  [pig]  omnao  amm  Cennc  Glinir  ;  -\  m  poibe  in 
Sajq-ain-bepla  05  neoch  DO  bpeacnaib  ace  05  aen  peap.  Po  jab 
imoppo  ingean  Gngipc  pop  Dail  na  pleibi  .1.  pina  -]  piccepa  a  leap- 
cpaib  oip  -]  aipgiD,  comcap  mepgoa  meaoapcain  na  pluaig  ;  DO 
cuaiD  cpa  Demon  i  n^opcijepnn  im  jpaD  injeine  Gngipc,  -|  pola  in 
beplaiD  Dia  paigiD  Dia  cuinje  o'on  pig  DO  h-Gngipc,  -]  po  paio  ciDbe 
cungeap  'na  cochpa  Do  beaprap  DO.  T?6  paiD  Gngipc  cpi  comaple 
Sapcan  cuccap  DuinD  in  peapano  DianaD  amm  Congaplona  'pin 
bepla  Sa^an,  Ceinc  imoppo  ip  in  bepla  bpecnuch.  Oo  paD  ooib 


dently  intended  for  some  part  of  Germany, 
although  generally  applied  by  the  Irish 
to  Denmark  and  Norway.  See  O'Brien's 
Irish  Diet,  in  v.  Lochlannack. — (7'.) 

u  Great  bo.nquc,t. — F'-e'S'  D-  F1-6'6'  K- 
pleao  mop,  L. ;  this  last  reading  has  been 
followed.  In  the  next  line  L.  reads  rluci- 
guib  uile,  for  fluaj  :  pij;  has  been  added 
from  L.  and  B.  The  name  here  given  to 
this  royal  house  is  in  the  Latin  Nennius 
given  to  Gortigern's  interpreter:  "Fecit 
convivium  Hengistus  Guorthigirno  regi, 
et  militibus  suis,  et  interpret!  suo  qui  vo- 
cabatur  Cerdicselmet." — Bertram,  c.  36: 
and  the  name  is  variously  given  Cerdic 
Elmet,  Ceretecc,  Cerdic,  Ceretic ;  and  in 
the  Irish  copies,  Celecielmeo,  L.  Cepe- 
cicelemer,  B.  Cencic  Glmic,  D.  The 
reading  of  B.  has  been  followed  in  the  text, 
and  it  is  very  probable  that  the  original 
meaning  of  the  Irish  translator  was,  that 
the  banquet  was  given  "in  the  house  of  the 
king,  whose  name  was  Cereticus  Elmet, 
i.e.  Cereticus  king  of  Elmet,"  although,  as 


^opcijepnn 

the  Irish  text  now  stands,  it  must  be 
translated  as  above — (T.) 

All,  this,  however,  is  a  mistake.  A 
certain  Ceretic  of  Elmet  was  Ilengist's 
interpreter,  being  acquainted  with  the 
British  and  Saxon  languages.  See  Nen- 
nius, cap.  36.  Marcus,  p.  66.  There  is  an 
Ulmetum  or  Elmet  in  Yorkshire,  called 
Elmed-setna  in  Gale's  Ilidse  Cis-llum- 
brano;,  apud  xv.  Scriptorcs,  p.  748 ;  from 
which  Leeds  was  anciently  Loidis  in  El- 
meto,  and  where  Berwick  in  Elmet  now 
remains,  a  place  at  or  near  which  the 
Northumbrian  kings  once  had  their  pa- 
lace. It  is  the  Silva  Elmete  of  Beda, 
Hist.  ii.  cap.  14.  Camden  Brit,  ii.  90,  I. 
Thoresby's  Dueatus,  by  Whitaker,  p.  232. 
Building  on  this  passage  of  the  Ilistoria 
Britonum,  the  author  of  Bertram's  Sup- 
plement, p.  142,  says,  that  Edwin,  son  of 
Ella,  "  regnavit  annis  xvii,  et  ipse  occu- 
pavit  Elmet,  et  expulit  Ccrtec  regem  illius 
regionis."  But  Edwin's  reign  was  no  ear- 
lier than  616-33.  There  must  have  been 


8; 

After  this  Hengist  prepared  a  great  banquet"  for  Gortigern  and 
his  army  in  the  royal  house,  which  is  called  Centic  Elinit ;  and  none 
of  the  Britons  knew  the  Saxon  language  except  one  man  only.  The 
daughter  of  Hengist  proceeded  to  distribute  the  feast,  viz.,  wines  and 
ales,  in  vessels  of  gold  and  silverv,  until  the  soldiers  were  inebriated 
and  cheerful";  and  a  demon  entered  Gortigern,  from  love  of  the 
daughter  of  Hengist1,  and  he  sent  the  linguist  to  Hengist  to  ask 
her  for  the  king;  and  he  saidy,  that  "whatever  he  would  ask  for 
her  dowry  should  be  given  to  him."  Hengist,  by  the  advice  of  the 
Saxons,  said,  "  Let  there  be  given  to  us  the  land  which  is  named 
Congarlona2  in  the  Saxon  language,  and  Ceint  in  the  British  lan- 
guage, 


elm  forests  in  Britain,  besides  that  in 
Deira,  which  makes  the  situation  not  cer- 
tain. Cerdic  being  a  Saxon  name,  and 
Ceretic  a  known  way  of  writing  Caredig, 
it  is  not  obvious  of  which  nation  the  in- 
terpreter was;  but  the  transcribers  of 
Nennius  take  him  for  a  Briton,  and  in- 
deed his  being  OF  a  given  place  implies 
he  was  a  native  __  (//•)  Hengist's  name 
is  spelt  6i5>pc  in  L.  throughout,  and 
Qi^ipr  in  D.—  (T.) 

v  Gold  and  silver.  —  No  mention  of  these 
costly  vessels  is  found  in  the  Latin.  The 
word  comcap  is  an  ancient  mode  of  writing 
co  m-baoap.  It  is  spelled  comoap  in  B. 
and  L.—  (T.) 

w  Cheerful.  —  ITIeopach,  L.  ITIeaopai  je, 


bo  pala  in  belaio,  and  D.  po  paj  in 
bepla,  which  is  manifestly  corrupt.  B. 
and  L.  omit  01  a  paijio,  and  read,  OKI 
cumoig  pop  Gn^ipc.  B.  oiu  cumoij  pop 


x  Daughter  of  Hengist  —  L.  adds,  cpe 
coriiaipli  Scrran,  which  is  a  mistake  co- 
pied from  what  follows.  In  the  next 
words  B.  has  been  followed.  L.  reads 


y  He  said.  —  This  clause,  from  DO  pcno 
to  beaprap  DO,  is  omitted  in  L.  B.  reads 
DO  pcno  Gnjipc,  which  is  an  evident  mis- 
take. D.  reads  DO  beupcap  01,  "  should 
be  given  to  her,"  but  the  whole  tenor  of 
the  story  shews  that  DO,  "  to  him,"  is  the 
correct  reading.  The  orthography  in  B. 
is  Cibeo  cumocep  na  cocmapc  Do  bepap 
DO.—  (T.) 

1  Congarlona.  —  Conjaplon,  B.,  L.  — 
(T.)  This  should  be  written  Cantwar- 
land,  or  the  land  of  Kent.  —  (//.)  Ceno, 
L.  Cenc,  B.  It  appears  from  the  Latin 
that  Gurangona  (^upcinjopo,  B.,  Cupan- 
copo,  L.)  is  the  name  of  the  king  who 
then  ruled  over  Kent  :  "  et  dedit  illis 
Gnoirancgono  regnante  in  Cantia". 


88 

50  pccelce  plaich  ^upanjona  -|  po  pae  lap  in  n-injein 
1  |iop  cap  50  mop. 

Qgup  paio  Gnjipc  pe  ^opcijepno  bio  mipi  r'  achaip  ~\  oo 
comapleio  -|  Dia  noeapnoa  mo  comaple  m  caempac  na  cineaoaig 
eile  nf  ovnc;  ~\  pajap  uampea  i  toclilnino  ap  ceano  mo  meic  ~\ 
7Tieic  peachup  a  marup  ~\  caehaijjpio  a  n-aigiona  namao  DO  pochpa- 
Dap  co  mup  jual.  Qubepc  ^jopcigepno  a  cocuipeo,  -\  oo  cop  ap 
a  ceanD,  ~|  Do  pochraoap  Oclica  mac  Gnjppr  -|  Gbipa  co.  pel.  long; 
1  po  aipjpeao  inopi  Opcc  ic  ciachcain  a  ruaiD;  "|  po  jabpac  pea- 
pnnna  imoa  cop  in  minp  ppipeagon,  .1.  in  muip  pil  a  leich  ppi 
5«etjealu  po  cuaio.  No  ceijoip  ceachra  6  Gngipc  ap  ceano 
long  pop,  -|  no  cijoip  pluaij  nuao  cacha  bliaDna  cucu,  co  po  pop- 
bappeaD,  ~\  50  po  linpac  o  imp  CeneD  co  Cancapbojij. 

6a  beaj  la  Oiabul  oe  iilc  Do  poinDe  ^opcijepnD  co  capD  paip 
a  mjen  pein  Do  cabaipc,  co  piij^  mac  DO.  Oo  cualaiD  ^eaprnan 
naem  [pin]  cainig  ~\  cleipech  Dia  muuiCip  .1.  bpeaoiach,  oo  caipi- 

UJUD 


a  Loved  her  much.  —  l?op  e^ap  co  mop,  Ochca  mac  6ij;ifc  7  Gi^H'oa,  D.    Roche 

L.     The  word  egar  is  still  in  use  to  ex-  ochc  meic  Bipjipc  [the  eight  sons  of  En- 

press  endearment,  and  is  often  found  even  gist]   i   ebipa,   B.       The    Latin   is  "  et 

where    the    Irish  language  has    entirely  invitavit  Ochta  et  Ebissa."  —  (T.) 

ceased,  and  in  the  lips  of  those  who  never  e  The  Frisey  Sea,  etc.  —  "Mare  Freskmm, 

spoke  a  word  of  Irish,  in  the   form  "a  quod   inter   nos  Seotosque  est,   usque  ad 

haygur."  —  (T.)  confinia  Pictorum."     The  author  had  a 

b  I  will  send.  —  Ctcc  pacaip   uaimfea,  very  indistinct,  notion   of  the  position  of 

B.  L  —  (T.)  Friesland.    The   Gaidheal   or   Scoti   here 

c  The  wall,   Gual.  —  TTlup    ^paoul,    D.  mean  Ireland  —  (//.) 

mup  ^aulup,  B.    In  L.  mup  ftuub,  which  f  To  Cantarboryh.—Thc  whole  of  this 

is  probably  a  mere  slip  for  jual,  which,  passage  is  very  corrupt  both  in  the  Latin 

as  the  Latin  proves,  is  the  true  reading,  and  Irish   copies  :   j  po  cei^oip  cecru  o 

See  pp.  64,  65.  —  (T.)  Bnjipc   ap   cenn  lonj   pop,  j  po  cijoip 

d  There     arrived    Ochta.  —  Roccaoap  pluaij  nuab  jaca  bliabna  cucu,  co  pop- 

imoppo  mac  Binjipc  j  Gbipa,  B.  Roche  bpipec,  •]  co  po  linpac  o  imp  Ceneo  co 


89 

guage."  Gortigern  cheerfully  gave  them  the  dominions  of  Guran- 
gona,  and  he  lay  with  the  daughter  and  loved  her  much". 

And  Hengist  said  to  Gortigern:  "I  will  be  thy  father  and  thy 
counsellor,  and  if  thou  takest  my  advice  the  other  tribes  will  not  be 
able  in  any  way  to  molest  thee ;  and  I  will  send"  to  Lochland  for  my 
son,  and  for  the  son  of  his  mother's  sister,  and  they  will  fight  against 
the  enemy  who  have  reached  as  far  as  the  wall  Gual.c"  Gortigern  said, 
"  Let  them  be  invited ;"  and  they  were  invited  ;  and  there  arrived 
Ochta",  son  of  Engist,  and  Ebisa,  with  forty  ships  ;  and  they  plun- 
dered the  Orkney  islands  on  coming  from  the  north,  and  they  took 
many  lands  as  far  as  the  Friseg  seae,  that  is  the  sea  which  is  to  the 
north  of  the  Gaedhal.  And  ambassadors  were  further  sent  by  Hen- 
gist  for  more  ships,  and  a  new  force  used  to  arrive  every  year,  so 
that  they  increased,  and  filled  the  land  from  the  island  of  Teneth  to 
Cantarborgl/. 

The  devil  deeming  it  but  little  the  evil  that  Gortigern  had  done, 
induced  him  to  cohabit  with  his  own  daughter,  so  that  she  bare  him 
a  son.  When  Germang  heard  of  this,  he  went,  accompanied  by  a 

clergyman 

Cancapboji^,  B.     -|  no  cheijoip  reached  said  to  have  died  circa  484,  which  is  con- 

0  Gijjepc  ap  ceano  lonj  boup,  -|  no  cic-  sistent  with  his  having  a  child  some  years 
oip  pluuij  nnu  cacha  bliaona  chucu  co  old,  at  that  time.     But  it  is  evident  that 
pa  poipbpipeuo,  -|  co  po  linpuo  o  Ii-Gnep  his  unpopularity  commenced  several  years 
Cenocch  co  Ceanoupbpoj,  L.  No  ceig-  later,   when  he   attached  himself  to   tin- 
Dip  ceachea  o  Gigipc  ap  ceano  long  bop,  Saxons,  whose  original  invitation  was  sub- 

1  no  ci^oip  pluuij  nuao  cucha  bliatmu  sequent  to    St.  German's  death;   and   so 
cucu,  co  po  popbuppeuo,  -|  50  po  Impuc  far  from  being  an  unpopular  act,  was  not 
o  imp  6peaccm  co  canjjaoap   bapj,  D.  even  the  king's  act,  but  one  resolved  upon 
This  latter  reading,  however,  is  evidently  by  all   the  consiliarii — Gildas,    cap.   23. 
corrupt. — (T.)  Therefore  these  statements  are  false ;   anil 

g  German German    took    his    final      the    entire  charge  of  incest    is   open   to 

leave  of  Britain  in  447,  and  Vortigern  is      doubt — (//.) 
IRISH  ARCH.  SOC.    1 6.  N 


9o 

ujuo  1  oo  cops  ^jopngepno;  1  V°  cmoilio  laich  -)  cleipig  6pea- 
can  inle  imon  caingen  pin,  -\  im  cainjjm  na  Saxan  ;  -|  acbepc  imoppo 
^opcigepno  pe  h-ingein,  Qchc  co  n  each  a  n-aen  baile  cabaippea 
no  mac  a  ri-uchc  ^eapman,  ~]  abaip  copob  e  a  achaip,  -|  oo  paio 
in  n-ingean.  Po  gab  5eaTiman  1  acbepc  pip  in  mac,  610  mipi 
c'achaip  ol  pe,  -]  po  cuinoij  ^eapman  alcain,  -\  oemeap,  ~\  cip,  ["]  a] 
nabaipc  alaim  na  naioen  ;  ~\  cugab,  "|  aobeapr  ^eapman  :  Q  mic 
cabaip  pin  a  laim  c'achap  collaioe  ;  •]  aopaclic  in  naioe  ~\  oo  pao 
in  cfp  i  in  Oimeap  -\  in  n-ailcim  a  laim  ^opngepno,  -]  aobepc,  Q 
mo  poba,  ol  pe,  oena  mo  beappan,  rip  ip  ru  m'acaip  collaioe, 
^eapman  imoppo  m'achaip  cpeiomi.  T?o  li-unoeapgao  im  ^opci- 
^epno,  i  po  jab  peapj  co  li-aobal,  -\  po  ceirli  app  a  n-aipeachc  ;  ~\ 
po  mallacc  in  popul  bpernacli  inle,  -]  po  n-eapcam  ^eapman  [oe 
ouobup]. 

DUN  am6Roiss  QNMSO  a^us  Dia  ca^Ra  p^'s  wa 


XVIII.  T?o  rocinpipoaip  lapoain  ^opcigepno  cuice  oa  opuiD 
Oeg,  co  peapao  nachib  a  nf  bo  coip  oo  ocanam.  Do  paiopio  pip 
na  Opinoi,  Sfp  imli  inn]1!  bpeacan,  -]  po  jjebri  onn  oam^ean  Ooo 
oioean  ap  in  cinel  n-eaclirpann  Oia  cnpraipi  oo  rfp  -|  oo  pi£e,  oaij 
noo  minppio  oo  namaio,  -|  ^ebait)  Oo  cfp  ~|  oo  ralam  rap  r'eip. 
17o  rochleapOaip  ^oprijepno  co  n-a  pluaj  ~]  co  n-a  OpuiOib  oeip- 

ceapc 

h  A  clergyman.  —  The  reading  adopted  J  The  fortress    of  Atnbrose.  _  -t)o    oun 

is  that  of  L.     D.  reads  cciinij  ci^uf  clei-  Qmpoif,  ]).    Do  oun  CInibpoipp,  B.     In 

pij  6peacun.     B.  reads  camij  m  clepec  \fv\*\\,])inasEmria,  the  fortress  of  Emrys 

6pecan   inle.     The  Latin  is  "venitcum  or  Ambrose.  —  (T.) 

omni  clero  Brittonum."  —  (T.)  k  The  Druids    said.  —  Clcbepcaoap  a 

'  British  people.  —  .popal  nu  m-6pea-  opaio  ppip  mile  6perain  DO  lappaib,  B. 

can  uile,  D.  pobul  m-6pearnach,  L.  B.  ciobeptaoap  ne  opuio  pip,  pip  tmli  cpichi 

oe  ouobup  added  from  B.  and  L  —  (T.)  6pecan,  L.     In  what  follows  the  ortho- 


91 

clergyman"  of  his  nation,  i.  c.  British,  to  criminate  and  check  Gorti- 
gern;  and  he  assembled  all  the  laity  and  clergy  of  Britain  for  this 
purpose,  and  also  for  the  purpose  of  consulting  about  the  Saxons. 
But  Gortigern  told  his  daughter,  "  When  they  are  all  assembled 
together,  give  thou  thy  child  into  the  breast  of  German,  and  say  that 
he  is  his  father."  And  the  daughter  did  so.  German  received  the 
child,  and  said  unto  him,  "  I  will  be  thy  father,"  said  he  ;  and  Ger- 
man asked  for  a  razor,  scissars,  and  a  comb,  and  gave  them  into 
the  hands  of  the  infant;  and  this  was  done;  and  German  said:  "  My 
son,  give  these  into  the  hand  of  thy  carnal  father;"  and  the  infant 
advanced,  and  gave  the  comb,  the  scissars,  and  the  razor,  into  the 
hand  of  Gortigern,  and  said,  "  O  my  master,"  said  he,  "  do  thou 
tonsure  me,  for  thou  art  my  carnal  father.  German  is  my  father  in  the 
faith."  Gortigern  blushed  at  this,  and  became  much  enraged,  and 
fled  from  the  assembly ;  and  he  was  cursed  by  all  the  British  people'1, 
and  excommunicated  by  German  also. 

OF    THE   FORTRESS    OF    AMBROSE',    AND    OF    HIS    CONTEST  WITH   THK 

DRUIDS. 

XVIII.  And  afterwards  Gortigern  invited  to  him  twelve  Druids, 
that  he  might  know  from  them  what  was  proper  to  be  done.  The 
Druids  saidk  to  him,  "  Seek  the  borders  of  the  island  of  Britain, 
and  thou  shalt  find  a  strong  fortress  to  defend  thyself  against  the 
foreigners  to  whom  thou  hast  given  up  thy  country  and  thy  king- 
dom, for  thine  enemies  will  slay  thee1,  and  will  seize  upon  thy 
country  and  lands  after  thee."  Gortigern,  with  his  hosts  and  with 

his 

graphy   of  D.  is   very  corrupt;  the  text  '  Will  slay  thee. — B.   and  L.   read   DO- 

has  been  corrected  from  B.  and  L.,  but  it  maippeao  t>o  namaio.    For  DO  calam,  B. 

will  only  be  necessary  in  these  notes  to  reads  DO  ceneoil;  L.   DO   cheneli,   "thy 

mention  the  more  important  various  read-  race,"      "Cum   universa   gen  to   tua;" — 

ings — (T.)  Nennius — (?'.) 


92 


ceapc  mnpf  bpeacan  uile,  co  panjaoap  5llinet)'  1  P°  Pl'reaD  pl 
hepep  uile,  -|  conao  anDpin  puapaDap  in  oino  op  in  muiji,  -\  peap- 
uriD  oaingean,  cop  cumoaijeg  h-e  ;  acbepcaDap  a  opuioi  pip,  Oean- 
apu  punDa  ou  Dun,  ol  piao,  ap  rn  caemnagaip  nf  Do  co  bpach. 
Uuccha  paip  mpoain  "]  no  cinolic  anbaip  in  Dinn  eicip  cloich  ~\ 
cpano,  i  pugao  ap  uile  in  comaohap  a  ri-aeri  aioce,  -\  po  cmolic  po 
cpi  inupin  in  comaobup  pin  -]  pujao  ap  po  cpi.  Ocup  po  piappaig 
[cpa]  Dia  opuiDcib  cio  Dia  Da  in  c-olc  [pa]  ap  pe;  po  paiopeac  a 
Dpuioe,  cuingiD  mac  na  peap  a  achaip  ~|  mapbcap  leac  -\  eappam- 
rep  a  puil  cap  in  Dun;  [~|]  ap  amlaio  conn  icpiDeap  a  cumoach. 
17o  laire  ceachra  UHD  po  imp  6peacan  D'lappuib  mic  gan  acliaip, 
~|  po  pfppeac  co  mag  Gilleice  a  cip  J^euipic,  ip  anD  pin  puapaDap 
na  macu  05  imam,  co  capla  DeabaiD  eri|i  Da  macam  Dib,  con 
n-ebaipc  in  mac  ppia  apaile,  oDuine  gan  achaip,  ni  pil  maic  aguD 
eoip.  l?o  h-iappaijpeac  na  ceachca  ciD  Dia  ho  mac  in  jilla  pip  a 
n-ahpe  piuD  ?  Qcbepc  luchc  na  paiche,  ni  eacamap,  ol  piao  [ca 

a  macliaip 


m  Guined. — B.  reads  co  Neo, corruptly ; 
L.  has  ^uneao;  the  Latin  reads  Guoie- 
nct.— (T.) 

n  Herer, — The  text  is  here  corrected 
from  B.,  in  conformity  with  the  Latin. 
D.  omits  hepep;  and  L.  corrupts  the 
words  pliub  hepep  to  palautpep.  Snow- 
don  is  the  mountain  meant (T.) 

°  A  Dinn. — In  the  Latin  arcern.  The 
word  Dinn,  which  is  found  in  many  names 
ol'  places  in  Ireland  (as  Dinn  Righ,  near 
Leighlin),  and  in  the  name  of  the  an- 
cient treatise  Dinn-Senchus,  (the  History 
of  Dinns)  is  synonimous  with  Dun,  a  fort. 
It  seems  to  be  here  used  in  its  original 
signification  of  a  high  or  naturally  forti- 
fied hill.  It  is  explained  cnoc,  a  hill,  in 


old  Glossaries (T.) 

p  Carried  away — Similar  traditions  ex- 
ist in  connexion  with  the  erection  of 
many  churches  in  Ireland,  viz.,  that  what 
was  built  in  the  course  of  the  day  was 
thrown  down  at  night  by  some  unknown 
power.  Mr.  ()' Donovan  found  this  tra- 
dition told  of  the  church  of  Banagher,  in 
the  county  of  Derry,  and  has  given  an 
account  of  it  in  a  letter  preserved  among 
the  Ordnance  Survey  papers,  Phtcnix 
Park,  Dublin (T.) 

q  Whose  father  is  unknown. —  Nach 
finocup  a  acaip,  B.,  L.,  i.e.  "whc.se  father 
is  not  known." — (T.) 

'  Let  his  blood  be  sprinkled. — 6appain- 
cep,  L.,  has  been  substituted  in  the  text, 


93 

his  Druids,  traversed  all  the  south  of  the  island  of  Britain,  until  they 
arrived  at  Guinedm,  and  they  searched  all  the  mountain  of  llerer", 
and  there  found  a  Dinn°  over  the  sea,  and  a  very  strong  locality  fit  to 
build  on ;  and  his  Druids  said  to  him,  "  Build  here  thy  fortress," 
said  they,  "  for  nothing  shall  ever  prevail  against  it."  Builders 
were  then  brought  thither,  and  they  collected  materials  for  the  for- 
tress, both  stone  and  wood,  but  all  these  materials  were  carried 
awayp  in  one  night;  and  materials  were  thus  gathered  thrice,  and 
were  thrice  carried  away.  And  he  asked  of  his  Druids,  "  Whence 
is  this  evil?"  said  he.  And  the  Druids  said,  "  Seek  a  son  whose 
father  is  unknownq,  kill  him,  and  let  his  blood  be  sprinkledr  upon 
the  Dun,  for  by  this  means  only  it  can  be  built." 

Messengers  were  sent  by  him  throughout  the  island  of  Britain  to 
seek  for  a  son  without  a  father ;  and  they  searched  as  far  as  Magh 
Eillite5,  in  the  territory  of  Glevisic,  where  they  found  boys  a  hur- 
ling ;  and  there  happened  a  dispute  between  two  of  the  boys,  so 
that  one  said  to  the  other,  "  O  man  without  a  father',  thou  hast  no 
good  at  all."  The  messengers  asked,  "  Whose  son  is  the  lad  to  whom 
this  is  said  ?"  Those  on  the  hurling  green"  said,  "  We  know  not," 

said 

for  oeipijbep,  D.,  which  signifies,  "let  it  buine  can  achaip  ni  puil  in  acliaip  occu, 

be  spread."       B.  reads   eppaicep,    "  let  L.,  i.  e.    "  O  man  without  a  lather,   thou 

it  be  sprinkled."     The  Latin  is  asperga-  hast  no  father."     The  reading  in  the  text 

tur  or   conspergatur. — (2'.)      See  Addi-  is  taken  from  B.,  as  it  coincides  with  the 

tional  Notes,  No.  XIV.,  for  some  remarks  Latin. — ( T.) 

on  the  practice  here  alluded  to.  u  Hurling-green paicci,  B.   puici,  L. 

5  As  far   as    Magh  Eillite.- — -po    majjj  This  word,   which   occurs  frequently  in 

Gillicbe,  D.  Co  mab  Glleci,  B.  Co  mag  composition  in  the  names  of  places  in  Ire- 

dlleice,  L.     This  last  reading  has  been  land,  signifies   a  green  field;  and  in  the 

adopted. — (T.)      See    Additional    Notes,  county  Kilkenny  is  still  used  to  denote  a 

No.  XV.  fair-green,   or  hurling-green ;  as    paicci 

£  0  man    without  a  father. — Q  oume  an    uonuij;    paicct    na    h-iomunu;    'ye 

jen  uchaip  ni  h-uil  achaip  ajjab,  D.    Q  an  peap  ip  p eapp  ap  a'  b-paicci  e.     See 


94 

a  machaip  punn,  op  piao].  Ro  lappaiopeac  Oia  macaip  ciD  t>iap 
bo  mac  an  gilla.  Ro  ppeagaip  in  machaip  m  eat>ap-pa,  olpi,  acaip 
050,  i  ni  eaoap  cmoap  DO  pala  im  bpomo  eicip.  Uugapoaip  cpa 
na  ceachna  leo  in  mac  pn  co  ^opngepnn,  -|  po  h-inoipoaip  amail 
puapaoap  e. 

XIX.  lap  na  maipeac  po  cinolir  [in]  pluaig  copo  mapbcha  in 
mac,  -|  cugao  co  pin  pig  in  mac,  -]  aobepc  ppip  in  pig,  cm  ap  nam 
ciigao-pa  cucaib,  ap  pe  ?  Ro  pam  in  pi^  ooo  mapbuopa,  op  pe,  i 

000  copcpao,  -\  oo  copepjuo  in  omn  pea  ?>oo  pull.    Qobepc  in  mac 
cia  po  h-incoipc  ouio-piu  pin  ?    II lo  opaioe,  ap  in  pi.   ^aipuep  alle, 

01  in  mac,  i  canjaoap  na  opinOi.   Qrbepr  in  mac  piu,  Cia  po  paio 
pibpi  na  cnmDaigep  in  oun  po  no  co  coipeacapca  [DO  m'  puil-pea]  ap 
rup?  -|  m  po  ppeagpanap.     Oo  eaoappa,  ol  pe,  in  ci  Dom   paopa 
cucaihoap  bap  n-aiceo6  ip  e  t>o  pai)  popaih-pi  inbpeagDo  cancain. 
Qcc  ceana,  a  pig,  ol  pe,  poillpispean-pa  pfpimie  mno-piu,  -]  piappai- 
jim  tiun  opairib  ap  cup,  ciO  aca  a  polac  po'n  n-iiplrip  po  in  ap  piab- 
naipi.   T?o  paiDpeao  na  opmoi  noc  n-eaoamap  ap  piao.   l?o  eaoap- 
pa  ol  pe:   aca  loch  uipce  arm  ;   peachap  ~|  claecep.      Po  claet>et> 
-|  ppich  [in  loc  ant)].      Ct  pace  mt>  pij,  ap  in  mac,  abpait)  CID  aca 
im  meoon  in  loca?      Ni  peaoemap,  ol  piar>.      Ro  pecicappa,  ol  pe, 
acdic  ori  clap  cipDi  mopa  ann  in  n-agaio  a  11-05010,  ~|  cuccap  ap 
[me  ;  1  peagcap  -|  cucab  ap;]  -]  a  opuibe,  ap  in  mac,  abpafo  CID 
aca  ecip  na  clap  leapcpaib  ut>  ?   ni  eaoemap,  ap  piao.      Ro  pea- 

Dappa, 

note  h,  p.  66.  supra.  In  Corinac's  Glos-  x  With  my  Mood. — Supplied  from  B. 

sury  (voce  pla),  it  is  employed  to  trans-  and  L.  Other  corrections  of  the  text  have 

late  the  Latin  word  plated — ( T.)  also  been  made  from  the  same  sources, 

v  His  mother  is  here,  said  they. — Added  but  the  variations  are  not  worth  noticing, 

from  L.  B.  reads  ace  aca  maraip  pun-  being,  for  the  most  part,  mere  differences 

oci  occai  olpiuc — (T).  of  orthography. — (T.) 

w  To  them ppip  no  opcujib,  L).  piu  y  fltis  lie The  meaning  seems  to  be 

in  B.  and  L. — (T.)  this:  "The  person  who  induced  you  to 


95 

said  they,  "  his  mother  is  here,"  said  theyv.  They  asked  of  his 
mother  whose  son  the  lad  was.  The  mother  answered,  "  I  know 
not,"  said  she,  "  that  he  hath  a  father,  and  I  know  not  how  he  hap- 
pened to  be  conceived  in  my  womb  at  all."  So  the  messengers  took  the 
boy  with  them  to  Gortigern,  and  told  him  how  they  had  found  him. 
XIX.  On  the  next  day  the  army  was  assembled,  that  the  boy 
might  be  killed.  And  the  boy  was  brought  before  the  king,  and  he 
said  to  the  king,  "  Wherefore  have  they  brought  me  to  thee  ?"  said  he. 
And  the  king  said,  "  To  slay  thee,"  said  he,  "  and  to  butcher  thee,  and 
to  consecrate  this  fortress  with  thy  blood."  The  boy  said,  "  Who  in- 
structed thee  in  this  ?"  "My  Druids,"  said  the  king.  "  Let  them  be 
called  hither,"  said  the  boy.  And  the  Druids  came.  The  boy  said  to 
them",  "  Who  told  you  that  this  fortress  could  not  be  built  until  it 
were  first  consecrated  with  my  blood?3"'  And  they  answered  not.  "I 
know,"  said  he ;  "  the  person  who  sent  me  to  you  to  accuse  you,  is  he 
who  induced  you  to  tell  this  liey ;  howbeit,  O  king,"  said  he,  "  I  will 
reveal  the  truth  to  thee;  and  I  ask  of  thy  Druids,  first,  what  is  concealed 
beneath  this  floor  before  us  ?"  The  Druids  said,  "  We  know  not,"  said 
they.  "  I  know,"  said  he  ;  "  there  is  a  lake  of  water  there  ;  let  it  [the 
floor]  be  examined  and  dug."  It  was  dug,  and  the  lake2  was  found 
there.  "  Ye  prophets  of  the  king,"  said  the  boy,  "  tell  what  is  in  the 
middle  of  the  lake  ?"  "  We  know  not,"  said  they.  "  I  know,"  said 
he, "  there  are  two  large  chests  of  wood  face  to  face,  and  let  them  be 
brought  out  of  it."  It  was  examined,  and  they  were  brought  forth". 
"  And  0  Druids,"  said  the  boy,  "  tell  what  is  between  those  two 

wooden 

tell  this  lie  will  be  the  cause  of  your  dis-  z  The  lake  —  The  words    in   loc    unt> 

grace."     Here  begins  a  fragment  of  this  are  added  from  U. — (T.) 

work  in  the  Leabhar  na  h-Uidhri,  which  *  Brought  forth.  —  The   words   within 

shall  be  referred  to  in  the  following  notes  brackets  are  added  from   B.     U.  and  L. 

by  the  letter  U. — (T.)  read  -|  cucab  ap,  only. — (T.) 


96 

Dappa,  ap  pe,  aca  peol  bpac  [ano  ;  -|  cuccap  ap,  i  ppic  in  peol] 
cimmapcee  ecip  na  Da  clap  cipoi.  Qbpam,  a  eolcha,  ap  in  mac, 
cm  aca  a  meaoon  in  n-eaoaig  uo  ?  ~|  m  po  ppeagpaDap,  [ap  m  po 
chucpacap].  Qcaic  na  cpuim  ann,  ol  pe,  .1.  cpuim  neapg  ~|  cpinm 
geal ;  pcaileeap  in  c-eaoach.  Ro  pcaileao  in  peol  bpac,  [~|]  po 
banap  na  Da  cpuim  na  coDlao  ann.  [Ro  pam  in  mac]  peacai6-pe 
a  n-Dingnam  anopa  na  biapna.  Gnpuche  each  nib  co  apaile  co 
paibe  ceccap  oe  ic  ppameao  a  ceile,  •)  [co  pobnrap]  ic  imleanpao, 
1  ic  imiche,  ~\  no  li-mnaphrlian  in  cpinm  nih  apaile  co  meation  in 
c-piuil,  i  in  peachc  aile  co  imell.  Do  ponpac  pa  cpf  pon  n-inoupin. 
In  cpmm  puam  cpa  ba  pant>  ap  nip,  "|  po  h-innapbcao  co  h-imeal 
in  n-eaoaiD;  in  cpuim  cairneamach  imoppo  ha  pann  po  neoi^,  ~| 
po  ceich  ip  in  loch,  ~]  po  pineapoaip  in  peol  po  ceooip.  Ro  h-iap- 
pam  in  mac  t>o  na  Dpai6it) ;  innipin  ap  pe,  cm  paillpi^ip  in  r-in^nao 
]-a?  Ni  eanamap,  ap  pian.  Oo  ^ean-pa  [ap  in  mac]  a  paillpnijao 
Do'n  pijj.  Ip  e  an  loch  plaichiup  in  Domain  inle,  ~\  ipe  in  peol  no 
plain u pi u  a  pij.  Ipiac  na  r>a  cpinm  imoppo  [na  t>a  neapc]  .1.  no 
neapc  po  co  m-5peafnaib,  •)  neapc  Sa^an  In  cpuim  puao,  ip  i 
no  li-moapban  ap  cup  Do'n  plaiclnup  no  neapc-po  ;  neapr  Sa^ran 
imoppo  in  cpuim  [gel]  po  gab  in  peol  uile  ace  bea^,  .1.  po  j;ab  imp 
6peacan  ace  bea$,  co  po  h-innapbpacap  i.eapr  bpeacan  po  neoi?;. 
Cupa  imoppo,  a  pig  bpeacan,  eipig  ap  in  nun  po,  ap  nf  caemaip  a 
cumnach,  -\  pip  imp  bpeacan,  ~|  po  geba  no  nun  pein.  Ro  pam  in 
pig,  came  DO  comaintnpm  a  mic,  ol  pe ;  po  ppeagaip  in  gilla,  Qm- 

bpop, 

b  Was  found. — The  words  within  brack-      ven  to  the  middle  of  the  sail."     But  U., 
ets  are  added  from  U.  and  B.  In  the  next      B.,  and  L.  all  read  as  in  the  text,  which 
lines   the  clause  ap   m    po  tucpubap   is      also  agrees  with  the  Latin — (T.) 
added  from   U.  and  L. ;  and  Ro  pam  in          d  Kinydom. — D.  reads,  in  pluichemnap; 
mac  from  U.,  L.,  and  B — (T.)  U.,  B.,  and  L.  all  read  plaiciup,  without 

c  Alternately. — D.reads,  in  cpuim  puaio      the   article.      The  words    na  oa   neapr, 
ppiup;i.  e.  "the  red  maggot  was  first  dri-      "the  two  powers,"  in  the  next  line,  are 


97 

wooden  chests  ?"     "  We  know  not,"  said  they.     "  I  know,"  said  he  ; 
"  there  is  a  sail-cloth  there."     And  it  was  brought  forth,  and  the  sail 
was  foundb  rolled  up  between  the  two  wooden  chests.     "  Tell,  O  ye 
learned,"  said  the  boy,  "  what  is  in  the  middle  of  that  cloth  ?"  And 
they  answered  not,  for  they  understood  not.     "  There  are  two  mag- 
gots there,"  said  he,  "  namely,  a  red  maggot  and  a  white  maggot.  Let 
the  cloth  be  unfolded."    The  sail-cloth  was  unfolded,  and  there  were 
two  maggots  asleep  in  it.     And  the  boy  said,  "  See  now  what  the 
maggots  will  do."     They  advanced  towards   each  other,  and   com- 
menced to  rout,  cut,  and  bite  each  other,  and  each  maggot  drove  the 
other  alternately0  to  the  middle  of  the  sail  and  again  to  its  verge. 
They  did  this  three  times.  The  red  maggot  was  at  first  the  feeble  one, 
and  was  driven  to  the  brink  of  the  cloth ;  but  the  beautiful  maggot 
was  finally  the  feeble  one,  and  fled  into  the  lake,  and  the  sail  imme- 
diately vanished.     The  boy  asked  the  Druids:  "Tell  ye,"  said  he, 
"  what  doth  this  wonder  reveal  ?"  "  We  know  not,"  said  they.    "  I  will 
reveal  it  to  the  king,"  said  the  boy.  "  The  lake  is  the  kingdomd  of  the 
whole  world,  and  the  sail  is  thy  kingdom,  0  king.  And  the  two  mag- 
gots are  the  two  powers,  namely,  thy  power  in  conjunction  with  the 
Britons,  and  the  power  of  the  Saxons.    The  red  maggot,  which  was 
first  expelled  the  kingdom,  represents  thy  power ;  and  the  white 
maggot,  which  occupied  the   whole  sail  except  a  little,  represents 
the  power  of  the  Saxons,  who  have  taken  the  island  of  Britain,  ex- 
cept a  small  part,  until  ultimately  driven  out  by  the  power  of  the 
Britons.    But  do  thou,  O  king  of  Britain,  go  away  from  this  fortress, 
for  thou  hast  not  power  to  erect  it,  and  search  the  island  of  Britain 
and  thou  shalt  find  thine  own  fortress."    The  king  said,  "What  is  thy 
name,  0  boy,"  said  he.     The  youth  replied,  "  Ambrose,"  said  he, 
"  is  my  name."     (lie  was  Embros  Gleutic6,  king  of  Britain.)     "  Tell 

thy 

added  from  U.  B.  and  L — (T).  e  Embros  Gleutic — Qmbpoip 

IRISH  ARCH.  SOC.    1 6.  O 


bpop,  ol  pe,  m'amm-pe  (ip  e  pin  in  Gmbpop  5^euclc  T"5  bpeacan.) 
Can  Do  cenel  ap  ip  pig.  Conpul  Romanach,  ol  pe,  m'araip-pe,  ~\  bio 
e  peo  mo  Dun.  Roleigcpa  ^opcigepno  in  Dun  Do  Ctmbpop,  -|  pije 
mpcaip  bpeacan  uile,  ~\  cainic  co  n-a  opaiDib  co  cuaipceapc  inpi 
bpeacan,  .1.  gup  an  peapann  DianaD  ainm  ^unnip,  -\  po  cuniDaij 
Dun  ann,  .1.  caep  5°rc'5erno  a^ 

DO  caichijshe 

XX.  lapcam  cpa  acpachc  5°l1cnemir1  copcpac,  mac  <5°PC1~ 
^eapno,  co  na  bpachaip,  .1.  Caicceapno,  in  n-ajaio  Gngipc  ~|  Oppa, 
[l]  po  cachaigpeac  bpeacnaig  mapaen  piu  co  li-amnap,  co  po 

h-inDapbpacap 


Snowdon,  p.  174.  The  mount  is  said  to 
have  been  called  Brith, 

"And  from  the  top  of  Brith  30  high  and  wond'roiu 

StCC]), 

Where  Dinas  Emris  stood,"  &c. 

Drat/ton,  cit.  ibid.  p.  17o. 

In  Triads  53  and  101,  the  Dirias 
Emmrys  is  called  Dinas  Faraon,  that  is, 
Enclosure  of  the  Higher  Powers  or  Spiri- 
tual Jieint/g.  The  last  of  these  Triads 
states,  that  an  eagle's  pullet,  brought 
forth  by  a  sow,  was  intrusted  to  the 
keeping  of  Brynach  the  Irishman  of  Di- 
nas Faraon.  It  was  clearly  a  building 
appropriated  to  magical  uses (//.) 

f  Gunnis, — So  all  the  Irish  MSS.  read. 

The  Latin  MSS.  vary  considerably (2'.) 

The  translator,  having  begun  the  story  by 
stating  that  Gwyncdd  (or  North  Wales), 
and  Mount  Eryri  (or  Snowdon),  were  in 
the  South  of  Britain,  seems  to  repeat  the 


U.  Ctmpur-  ^^F'^'C'  L — (?'.)  That  is 
to  say,  Emmrys  Wledig,  which  means 
Ambrosius  Sovereign  of  the  Land.  But 
Gwlcdig  seems  also,  for  some  unknown 
reason,  to  have  been  conventionally  an 
equivalent  for  Aurelius;  since  not  only 
Emmrys  Wledig  is  Aurelius  Ambrosius, 
but  Cynan  Wledig  is  Aurelius  Conanus. 
Nennius  and  Taliesin  identify  him  with 
Merlin,  the  bard  and  prophet,  called 
Merddin  Emmrys.  Two  structures  bore 
his  name,  viz.,  the  Stonehenge,  called  the 
Cor  Emmrys  and  Gwaith  Emmryg,  Circle 
of  Ambrose,  or  Work  of  Ambrose ;  and 
the  Dinas  Emmrys,  in  Snowdon,  here  spo- 
ken of.  The  latter  is  a  roundish  mound 
of  rook,  difficult  of  access,  on  the  top  of 
which  are  two  ramparts  of  stone,  and 
within  them  the  ruins  of  a  stone  build- 
ing, ten  yards  in  length.  Hard  by  is  a 
place  said  to  have  been  the  cell  of  Vorti- 
gern's  magicians. — Pennant's  Journey  to 


99 

thy  race,"  said  the  king.  "  My  father,"  said  he,  "  was  a  Roman  con- 
sul, and  this  shall  be  my  fortress."  Then  Gortigern  left  the  fortress 
to  Ambrose,  and  also  the  government  of  all  the  west  of  Britain,  and 
went  with  his  Druids  to  the  north'  of  the  island  of  Britain,  that  is,  to 
the  land  which  is  called  Gunnisf,  and  built  a  fortress  there,  which 
city  is  named  Caer  Gortigern8. 

OF  THE  WARFARE11  OF  GORTIMER. 

XX.  After  this,  Gortimer'  the  victorious,  son  of  Gortigern,  with 
his  brother  Catigern5,  rose  up  against  Hengist  and  Orsa,  and  the 
Britons  fought  fiercely  along  with  them,  so  that  they  drove  the  Saxons 

to 


name  of  Gwynedd,  in  the  travestied  form 
of  Gunnis,  and  place  it  in  the  north.  In 
the  first  place  the  Latin  copies  have  Gu- 
oienit  and  Guenet,  and  in  the  second, 
Gwnnessi,  Gueness,  and  Gueneri.  Pro- 
bably the  same  name  is  meant  in  both 
instances,  for  Gwnnessi  is  said  to  be  in 
the  sinistral  or  northern  part  of  Britain. 
But  it  is  false  that  Caer  Guortigern  was 
either  in  Gwynedd,  or  any  where  in  the 
north.  And  the  whole  sentence,  "  et  ipse 
cum  magis  suis  ad  sinistralem  plagam  per- 
venit,"  etc.,  seems  to  be  an  ignorant  in- 
terpolation. 

8  Caer  Gortigern,  .1.  Caep  ^opci^epnn 
ipoem,  B.  .1.  cuep  j;opclii^epno,  U.  .1. 
Caep  5olPcn'5ePnn>  1  po  °a  I"  h-Gm- 
pop  in  Dun,  .1.  bun  Gmpoip,  L. — (T.) 

h  Of  the  warfare.— B.  reads  oo  cucai- 
£ecc  50Pc'5ePn  an&po  piop.  L.  reads  oo 
chathaib  5°'Pmchij5epn  anbro  pip. — (T.) 

1  Gortimer — The  reading  of  U.  has  been 

O 


adopted  as  being  in  accordance  with  the 
Latin.  D.  reads  50Pclrn5ePnD-  The  other 
MSS.  read  5°PITlc'11TnePn->  L.  5°PC|- 
5epnb,  B.— (T.) 

J  Catigern.  —  This  name  occurs  here 
in  D.  only.  The  Latin  makes  no  men- 
tion of  the  brother,  but  reads,  "  et  cum 
gente  illorum."  There  is  much  confusion 
in  the  Irish  copies  about  these  names, 
and  even  in  the  same  copy  uniformity  is 
not  preserved.  For  Gortimer  we  find. 
Gortimgernd,  Goirmthigern,  Gormthimern, 
Goirtimper,  Gort/ternir,  &pc.  For  Cati- 
gern, Cailhgearnn,  Cantigern,  Cern,  &c.  It 
has  been  thought  better,  however,  to  pre- 
serve uniformity  in  the  translation (7T). 

The  Catigern  of  the  Latin  copies  is  Cyn- 
deyrn  in  Welsh,  to  which  Kentigern  is  the 
equivalent,  both  meaning  Chief  Prince; 
but  Cathigern,  Battle  Prince,  is  quite 
a  distinct  word ;  which  discrepancy  is  un- 
accounted for — (//.) 
2 


IOO 


h-int>apbpacap  Samaria  co  h-inip  Ceinech,  -|  po  jabpac  bpeacain 
po  cpi  poppo  in  n-in'p,  co  copachc  cobaip  cucu  ap  in  ^earTTiain'  1 
po  caicha<5peac  ppi  bpeacnu  cac  can  ba  leo  copcap,  can  aile  ba 
poppo. 

Ocup  oo  po  pan  ^oipchemip  ceichpi  caca  ooib,  .1.  each  pop  bpu 
Oeipgbemc  ~|  each  pop  bpu  Pechenepjabail  ~\  ip  ann  Do  pochnip 
Oppa  i  Cocijepnn  mac  ^opcijepnn,  -|  each  pop  bpu  mapa  ichc,  ~\ 
caipni^chep  Saxain  co  a  longaib  muliebpicep,  [~|  each  pop  bnuaij 
Gpippopc].  TTIapb  rnnoppo  ^opcimpip  [lap  n-aimpip  m-bic]  ocup 
a  oobaipc  ppia  bpeacnaib  £ap  pe  n-eg  a  aonacail  pop  bpu  mapa> 
~]  ni  cicpaicip  guill  ec  p  in  mnpi  mpoain.  Mi  oeapnnpac  bpea- 
cain  in  ni  pin.  Qopacc  reapc  Sa^an  lap  pin,  ap  ba  capa  Doib  ^op- 
cijjepno  ap  Daij  a  mna. 

XXI. 


k  Deirgbeint. — That  this  battle  of  the 
Daren t  was  distinct  from  that  of  Crayford 
(which,  in  fact,  is  not  on  the  Darent),  ap- 
pears from  Henry  of  Huntingdon,  p.  310, 
31 1.  Ailsford,  on  the  Medway,  is  sup- 
posed to  be  the  Saxon  Eppisford,  and  the 
British  Set  Thergabail,  Sathenegabail,  or 
Kit  Hergabail  of  Nennius.  Being  a  Va- 
duni,  Kit  is  clearly  right;  and  Saiscnag- 
aball,  destruction  of  the  Saxons,  is  per- 
haps the  title  of  that  ford.  But  Cainden, 
unless  he  had  other  copies,  incorrectly 
states  that  Nennius  hath  told  us  it  was 
so  called,  because  of  the  Saxons  being 

vanquished  there i.  p.  260.  Gibson.  The 

last  of  these  battles  was  at  the  "  Lupis 
Tiliili  super  ripam  Gallici  maris,''  which 
the  most  probable  conjecture  places  at 
Folk-stone ;  whereof  the  name  almost  im- 
plies that  the  people  had  some  rights, 


sanctions,  or  usages  (some  titulus)  con- 
nected witli  a  stone. — (//.) 

1  Kpisfort — The  text  of  this  passage  is 
very  corrupt  in  all  the  MSS.,  and  is  here 
given  chiefly  from  U. ;  the  following  are 
the  readings:  U.  reads  .1.  cue  pop  bpu 
Depjuint,  -)  car  pop  bpu  Rethene  ja- 
buil,  -|  ip  cmo  pochuip  Opp -]  Carijepno 
mac  ^opci^epnn,  -|  each  pop  bpu  mapa 
ice,  i  capnicip  8a,rain  co  a  lonjaib,  -\ 
car  pop  bpuaij  Gpippopc.  D.  reads  .1. 
carh  pop  bpu  tDeipjbemr,  -\  each  rop 
bpu  Raceapjabail,  -\  ipannpm  bo  poch- 
cup  Gijipc-]  Ccicijepnn,  mac  ^opcijepnn 
-]  each  pop  bpu  peicepja  mapa  ichc,  -| 
caipnijep  Sa^rain  co  lonjaib  mulie- 
bpicip.  Here  three  battles  only  are  men- 
tioned, as  in  Bertram's  Nennius,  cap. 
45.  The  word  muliebriter  is  inserted  from 
the  Latin,  "  et  ipsi  in  fugam  usque  ad 


1OI 


to  the  island  of  Teineth,  and  the  Britons  took  this  island  thrice  from 
them ;  so  that  forces  arrived  to  their  assistance  out  of  Germany,  and 
they  fought  against  the  Britons,  and  were  one  time  victorious  and 
another  time  defeated. 

And  Gortimer  gave  them  four  battles,  viz.,  a  battle  on  the  bank 
of  the  Deirgbeint"  ;  a  battle  on  the  bank  of  Rethenergabail,  in  which 
Orsa  and  Catigern,  son  of  Gortigern,  were  slain  ;  and  a  battle  on 
the  shore  of  the  Iccian  sea,  where  they  drove  the  Saxons  to  their1 
ships,  muliebriter;  and  a  battle  on  the  banks  of  Episfort1.  Gorti- 
mer died  soon  after™,  and  he  said  to  the  Britons  shortly  before  his 
death,  to  bury  him  on  the  brink  of  the  sea,  and  that  the  strangers 
would  never  afterwards  come  into  the  island.  The  Britons  did  not 
do  this".  After  this  the  power  of  the  Saxons  increased,  for  Gorti- 


gern was  their  friend  on  account  of  his  wife. 


XXI. 


chiulas  suas  reversi  sunt,  in  eas  mulie- 
briter intrantes."  This  is  the  only  MS. 
which  makes  Hengist,  instead  of  Orsa, 
be  killed  in  one  of  these  battles.  .1.  Cadi 
pop  bpu  t)epcoumt>,  -|  car  pop  bpu 
T?echene  Uengabail,  -|  ip  anopuibe  oo 
pochaip  Opp  -|  Cepn  muc  ^oipchijepn, 
-|  each  pop  bpu  mapa  ichc,  -|  caipmjj- 
cheap  Sayain  co  lonjjjaib,  -|  each  pop 
bpu  Gijepipopc.  B.  reads,  i.  Car  pop  bpu 
tJepjumb,  -|  car  pop  bpu  TJechepe  £a- 
bail,  -|  ip  anpioe  bo  pocuip  Opp  -|  Canci- 
jjepn  mac  5°P^'5ePnn5  1  ca^  F°P  bpu- 
015,  Cpipopc.  In  the  Latin,  Episford  is 
made  identical  with  the  second  battle- 
field :  "  super  vadum  quod  dicitur  in  lin- 
gua eorum  Episford,  in  nostra  autem  lin- 
gua Sathenegabail." — Bertram.  "  Kit  Her- 
gabail."— Stevenson (T.) 


m  Soon  after.  —  Instead  of  the  words 
within  brackets,  which  are  supplied  from 
U.,  B.,  and  L.,  and  are  a  literal  transla- 
tion of  the  Latin  post  modicum  intervul- 
lum,  D.  has  paulopopc — (T.) 

n  The  Britons  did  not  do  this,  etc. — 
Gortimer  is  the  Vortimer  of  Latin,  and 
the  Gwrthcvyr  of  Welsh,  history ;  cele- 
brated both  as  a  saint  and  a  warrior, 
and  surnamed  Bendigaid,  or  the  Blessed. 
What  the  Britons  are  here,  and  in  Geof- 
frey, said  not  to  have  done,  they  are  else- 
where reported  to  have  done.  The  bones 
of  Gwrthevyr  Vendigaid  were  buried  in 
the  chief  ports  of  the  island,  and  whilst 
they  were  concealed,  the  oppression  of  the 
island  was  impossible.  But  Vortigern  of 
the  Perverse  Mouth  revealed  his  bonus, 
out  of  love  for  Ronwen,  daughter  of  Hen- 


102 


XXI.  Do  pata  imoppo,  lap  n-eg  ^opchemip  -|  lap  pi'6 
1  ^opcijepnn,  Do  ponpac  Sa^ain  meabail  pop  bpearnaib,  .1.  bpea- 
cain  i  Sa^ain  Do  cinol  in  n-aen  baile  [amail  biD  Do  pio  .1.  Grrgipc 
1  <5opri£epn]  po  comlui  jen  apmaib  ac  cachcap  nai[oib],  ace 
rujpac  Sa^ain  pceana  ecuppa  -\  am  maelana,  ~\  po  mapbpac  na 
bpeacnaig  baoap  annpin  uili  occ  5°Pcl5ealirm  na  aenap,  ~\  po 
ceanjlaoap  ^opcigeaprm,  "|  DO  pao  cpian  a  peapainD  cap  ceano  a 
anma,  .1.  Qllpa^an  -|  pucpajram  -]  micilpa^an. 

No  popcanao  imoppo  ^eapman  in  of  J5°Pcl5eaPnt)  co  P°  leigeo 
a  mriai  [.i.  a  injjen].  Ro  ceicli  -]  po  polaig  pe  n-^eapman  ip  in 
peapann  oianao  ainm  ^oipcijeapnmam,  ~\  Do  cuaio  ^eapman  co 
clepcib  bpeacan,  "|  po  bai  cecpaca  la  ~\  aiDce  ann  :  •]  Do  cuaiD 
apipi  ^opcigeapno  pop  ceicheD  na  clepeach  coa  Dun, -|  DO  cuaoap 
na  01015,  1  P°  t>aT>aP  CP'  l<a  1  CP'  h-aiDci  annpin  in  n-aine;  -]  po  loipc 
reine  Oe  oo  mm  [in  01]  ^oipngeapnn  ano  pin  co  n-a  h-uile  muinn- 

cepi. 

gist  the  Saxon — Triad  53,  Series  3.  The 
history  of  this  person  is  involved  in  ob- 
scurity; and  his  date  and  age  agree  but 
ill  with  the  chronology  of  Vortigern. 
See  Rice  Rees'  Welsh  Saints,  p.  135.  It 
has  been  doubted  if  any  such  man  was 

his   son.  —  Carte's   History,    I.   p.   193 

(T.) 

°  In  peace. — The  clause  within  brackets 
is  added  from  L.,  B.,  and  U (T.) 

p  Sandals. — According  to  the  Latin,  the 


Saxons  were  directed  by  Hengist  to  bring 
each  an  artavus,  or  small  pocket-knife, 
"  in  medio  ficonis  sui,"  i.  e.  in  his  shoe  or 

boot (//.) 

"  Sparing  his  life — "  Pro  redemptione      or  depreciation  of  Gortigern,  but  rather 

animaj  suaj,"  Nennius.    Oap  cenou  mna,      the  contrary (7/.) 

U.     dp  0015  a  mna,     «  On  account  of          s  His  own  daughter. — These  words  are 


his  life,"  L.  For  one  third  (rpian)  of  his 
land,  the  translator  ought  rather  to  have 
said  three  parts;  "  tres  provincias." — 
Mama.  In  the  names  of  these  three 
provinces,  which  are  evidently  Essex,  and 
Sussex,  and  Middlesex,  the  MSS.  are 
very  corrupt,  tcirqjcum,  -|  Sucpoxum, 
-]  niulpcitum,  B.  fa  Soium,  -\  Sue 
Sqrum,  •)  m-puil  Scitam,  L. 
1  pucycr^um  •)  nicilparum,  U. 

cm,  -|  purp«,xan,  -)  nicilparan,  D (?'.) 

r  Gorliyern. — Literally,  "  the  person," 
or  "  the  man  Gortigern;"  mi,  D.  mm, 
U.,  L.  in  oi,  B.  This  prefix  is  not  to 
be  understood  as  implying  any  contempt 


io3 

XXI.  Now  it  came  to  pass  after  the  death  of  Gortimer,  and  after 
the  peace  between  Hengist  and  Gortigern,  that  the  Saxons  com- 
mitted an  act  of  treachery  upon  the  Britons ;  that  is,  the  Britons  and 
Saxons  were  assembled  together  in  equal  numbers  in  one  place,  as 
if  in  peace0,  viz.,  Hengist  and  Gortigern,  neither  party  having  arms  ; 
but  the  Saxons  carried  knives  concealed  between  them  and  their  san- 
dalsp,  and  they  killed  all  the  Britons  who  were  there  except  Gortigern 
alone,  and  they  fettered  Gortigern,  and  he  gave  the  one-third  of  his 
land  for  the  sparing  of  his  lifeq,  viz.,  All-Saxan,  and  Sut-Saxan,  and 
Mitil-Saxan. 

Now  German  had  admonished  Gortigernr  to  put  away  his  wife, 
that  is,  his  own  daughter";  but  he  fled  away  from  German,  and 
concealed  himself  in  the  land  which  is  named  Gortigernmain  ;  and 
German,  with  the  clergy  of  Britain,  went  after  him,  and  remained 
there  for  forty  days  and  nights  ;  and  Gortigern  fled  again1  from  the 
clergy  to  his  fortress,  and  they  followed  him  and  tarried  there  three 
days  and  three  nights  fasting.  And  the  fire  of  God  from  heaven 
burned  Gortigern"  there,  with  all  his  people.  Others  assert  that 

he 

inserted  from  U.,  B.,  and  L.  The  incest  gerniawn,  where  it  is  not  doubted  Caer 
of  Gortigern  is  only  mentioned  in  the  Guortigern  was  situate;  and,  being  pur- 
MS.  edited  by  Mr.  Gunn,  and  in  the  mar-  sued  by  Gcrmanus  and  his  priests,  and 
gin  of  the  Cottonian  MS.  Caligula,  A.  dreading  their  power,  he  removed  thence 
viii.  See  Stevenson. — (T.)  This  whole  to  another  fort  of  his  called  Din  Gorti- 
affair  is  very  doubtful.  See  p.  89.  But  gern,  in  Dyvcd  or  Demetia,  on  the  banks 
here  the  falsehood  is  manifest;  for  the  of  the  Tivy.  So  it  is  styled  in  Gale's 
plot  of  knives  is  usually  attributed  to  the  text;  but  Mr.  Gunn's  has  "  Cair  Guorthe- 
year  473,  and  at  any  rate  German  died  girn  juxta  flumen  Tebi,"  which  I  eon- 
one  year  before  Hengist's  first  arrival  in  ccive  to  be  erroneous. — (H.) 
449- — (H.)  u  Gortiyern.  — -  Literally,  "  the  person 
1  Fled  again.  —  There  is  a  confusion  Gortigern."  See  above,  note  r;  in  ni,  U. 
here,  from  its  not  being  clearly  expressed  in  01,  omitted  in  D.  L.  does  not  name 
that  Gortigern  had  two  places  of  refuge.  Gortigern  here,  but  reads  in  cijjeopru 
First,  he  went  to  the  district  of  Guorti-  pin. — (?'.) 


1O4 


cepi.  Qobepac  apaile  ip  Do  DepcafmuD  aobar  pop  paenouil  a  Hog 
illog.  Qubepc  apaile  ip  calam  DO  pluig  in  ajaio  po  loipceo  a 
bun. 

XXII.  TCobaoap  imoppo,  cpi  meic  oca  .1.  ^opcimpep,  ip  epibe 
po  cachaiD  ppi  Sa^ann;  Caingeapnn  ;  papcannc,  ip  Do  pioe  Do 
par,  Qmbpop  pi  bpearan,  bocuelc  -|  ^opngeapnmain  mp  n-eg  a 
achap  ;  paupcup  r.oein,  mac  a  ingene.  -|  ^eaPmcm  po  m-baipo  ~\ 
po  n-ail  i  po  popcan  ;  -]  reachcaiD  in  cachpaig  pop  [bpu]  ppoca 
l?aen.  Nemnup  aobepc  po. 

peapmael  pil  anopa  pop  peapann  J501]lcI5ermDrnain>  niac  ce~ 

Dubpe 


v  Died  of  grief  and  tears,  etc. — But  cer- 
tainly far  advanced  in  years.  His  repu- 
ted tomb,  culled  the  Bedd  Gwrtheyrn  or 
Grave  of  Vortigern,  is  still  seen  at  Llan- 
haiarn  in  Carnarvonshire,  and  was  found 
to  contain  the  bones  of  a  man  of  lofty 
stature.  See  Carte  i.  196.  The  Beddau 
Mihvyr,  st.  40,  says  that  the  tomb  in 
Ystyvachau  is  supposed  by  all  men  to  lie 
that  of  Gwrtheyrn  or  Vortigern. — (//.) 

w  Three  sons, — That  is  to  say,  Vorti- 
gern had  three  legitimate  sons,  or  such 
as  the  British  recognised  for  princes. 
Nothing  is  known  of  this  Saint  Faustus, 
nor  doth  there  seem  to  be  any  church  or 
convent  of  his  invocation.  The  Renis  or 
Reins,  at  which  Faustus  (not  Germanus, 
as  here)  built  a  locus  mognus,  has  been 
conjectured  to  be  the  Rumney,  dividing 
Glamorgan  from  Monmouth.-Ussher,  Brit. 
Eccl.  Primord.  Appx.  p.  1002.  One  manu- 
script calls  him  S.  Faustus  Seeundus.  A 
Briton  of  the  name  of  Faustus  was  bishop 
of  Riez,  in  Gaul,  and  honoured  as  a  saint 


(Vide  Aub.  Mirteum  in  Gennadium,  cap. 
61),  though  by  some  condemned  as  here- 
tical. He  flourished  in  the  days  of  Vor- 
tigern, and  kept  up  a  correspondence 
with  Britannia.  See  Sidonius  Apollinaris, 
Lib.  ix.  Epist.  9.  A  fourth  son  ascribed 
to  Vortigern  is  Gotta,  whom  his  Saxon 
wife,  Rowena,  is  said  to  have  borne  to 
him,  and  to  whom  V'ortigern  is  said  to 
have  given  (i.  e.  limited  in  succession)  the 

crown   of  Britain Triad.    21,   series   3. 

Lastly,  Mr.  R.  Rces  mentions  three 
saintly  sons  of  Vortigern,  St.  Edeyrn, 
who  formed  a  convent  of  300  monks  at 
Llanedeyrn,  near  the  Rumney  above- 
mentioned,  St.  Aerdeyrn,  and  St.  Ell- 
deyrn. — Essay  on  Welsh  Saints,  p.  186. 
All  these  names  are  formed,  like  Gwr- 
theyrn's  own,  upon  teyrn,  a  prince.  Pas- 
cent  is  the  most  authentic  of  his  imputed 
progeny — (//.) 

x  Who  fuvght — Ip  e  po  chachaio  pe 
Stream,  D.  "  Qui  pugnabat  contra  bar- 
baros." — Nennius (T.) 


105 


he  died  of  grief  and  tears',  wandering  from  place  to  place.  Another 
authority  asserts  that  the  earth  swallowed  him  up  the  night  on  which 
his  fortress  was  burnt. 

XXII.  He  had  three  sonsw,  viz.,  Gortimper,  who  fought11  against 
the  Saxons  ;  Catigern  ;  Pascant,  to  whom  Ambrose  the  king  of  Bri- 
tain gave  Bocuelt  and  Gortigernmain,  after  the  death  of  his  father; 
Saint  Faustusy,  his  son  by  his  own  daughter,  and  whom  Germain 
baptized,  fostered,  and  instructed,  and  for  whom  he  built  a  city  on 
the  brink  of  the  River  Raenz.  Nennius"  said  this. 

Fearmael",  who  is  now  chief  over  the  lands  of  Gortigern,  is  the 

son 


!  Saint  Faustus — D.  reads  pour-tup 
panctup:  all  the  other  MSS.  have  poup- 
rup  noem  or  naem. — (?'.) 

*  The  River  Raen.  See  note  ". — pop  bpu 
ppora,  L.,  B.  pop  bpo  ppora  Roen,  D. 
Pop  bpo  ppora  Rein,  U (T.) 

3  Nennius. — Nenup,  B.  Nemnep,  L. 
Neumnop,  D.  Nemnup,  U. — (7'.) 

*>Fearmael — Fernmael  (Strong-ankles), 
Firmwail,  or  Fermail,  was  a  petty  prince, 
reigning  when  the  Historia  was  compiled. 
The  same  name  occurs  in  Fernwail,  Fer- 
nael,  or  Fermael,  sun  of  Idwal,  in  the 
Brut  Tywys.  and  Saeson,  p.  391,  473, 
and  (as  I  conceive)  in  King  Farinmagil, 
slain  at  the  battle  of  Deorham. —  Ilenr. 
Huntingd.  p.  315.  Fernmael  I  take  to 
be  the  true  form  and  etymon,  according 
to  the  orthography  of  these  days.  His 
genealogy  (which  Gale  attributes  to  that 
bugbear,  Samuel)  is  in  every  copy  and 
edition.  Pascentius,  son  of  Vortigern, 
was  permitted  (as  the  Historia  has  already 
told  us)  to  retain  Buellt,  a  district  of  Kad- 


1' 


nor,  where  stood  the  ancient  Bulla'um 
Silurum,  and  Guorthigerniawn  or  Gwr- 
theyrniawn,  i.  e.  the  Jurisdiction  of  Vor- 
tigern or  Gwrtheyrn,  a  district  adjoining 
the  other  in  the  direction  of  Rhaiadrgwy, 
whereof  the  name  yet  survives  in  the 
ruined  castle  of  Gwrthrenion. 

This  patrimony  of  Pascent  ap  Gwr- 
theyrn descended  from  him,  through  ten 
intermediates,  to  Fernmael,  son  of  Theo- 
dore or  Tudor.  All  copies  exactly  agree 
in  the  pedigree,  save  that  one  or  two 
have  mistaken  Vortigern's  opprobrious 
surname,  Gwrthenau,  Perverse- Mouthed, 
for  a  separate  person.  It  is  not  likely 
that  such  particular  accounts  should  be 
given  of  the  fate  of  Vortigern's  estates  in 
Radnorshire,  and  of  the  descent  of  their 
actual  owner,  save  by  a  person  specially 
acquainted  with  those  parts.  But  that 
impression  rises  into  conviction,  when  we 
find  that  every  copy  of  the  catalogue  of 
the  twenty-eight  cities  of  Britannia,  in- 
cluding that  copied  into  the  Harleian 


io6 


Dubpe,  mic  paipcceann,  mic  J5°°'Oicann,  mic  TTlopur,  mic  Gllrao, 
tnic  eiooc,  mic  pauil,  mic  TTleppic,  mic  bpiacac,  mic  papcenc, 
mic  ^opci^eapno,  mic  5uacaiU  mic  5uacu^in>  rnic  <5^oa-  h°nup 
1  Paulup  i  TTlupon  cpi  meic  [oile]  "filoa,  ip  epioe  t>o  pome  in  cac- 
paig  Caipglou  .1.  ^tupepcep  F0P  ^Pu  SabpainDe.  Do  cuaiD  5ecT" 
man  Dia  cip. 

XXIII.  paDpaic  cpa  in  n-inbai6  pin  i  n-oaipe  i  ri-Gipino  ic 
TTliliuc,  i  [ip  ip  in  aimpiji  pin]  po  paioeab  pleoiup  cum  n-6ipeann 
DO  ppoicepr  ooib.  Do  cuam  paopaic  D'poglaim  bo  oeap,  co  po 
leig  in  canoin  la  J5ealiman-  T?°  h-inoapbao  pleoiup  a  h-6ipinn, 
1  canig  co  pa  pojam  t>o  Oia  i  popoun  ip  in  Tllaipne.  Uanig  pa- 
opaic  DO  cum  n-GipmD  lap  pojlaim,  i  po  baipc  pipu  6peann.  O 
Qoam  co  baiclnp  peap  n-6ipeann,  u.m.ccc.jr^.  peapca  paDpaic 
DO  intupm  oaibpi  a  pipu  6peann,  ip  upce  DO  loch  annpin,  [-)  ip 

liaifep 


MS.  of  pedigrees,  places  Caer  Guortigern, 
the  capital  of  Guortigerniawn,  first  in 
the  list  of  cities,  before  London,  York, 
Caerleon  upon  Usk  and  upon  Dee,  and 
whatever  was  most  famous  in  the  island! 
The  place  in  question  was,  on  the  face  of 
it,  no  older  than  the  fifth  century;  and, 
from  its  wild  and  mountainous  site,  could 
have  been  little  more  than  a  military  fast- 
ness. This  is  such  palpable  exaggeration 
and  flattery  as  may  best  be  accounted  for 
by  supposing  Guorthigerniawn  to  have 
been  the  author's  native  land,  and  Fern- 
mael  his  lord  and  patron. — (//.) 

0  Tedubre,  son  of  Paistcenn. — That  is  to 
say,  Theodore  or  Tudor,  son  of  Pascent. 
The  authenticity  of  this  pedigree  from 
Vortigern  derives  some  support  from  the 


recurrence  of  Pascent's  name.  At  least, 
if  it  be  a  fiction,  it  throws  baok  the  inven- 
tion of  it  to  Fernmael's  grandfather,  or  ra- 
ther to  that  grandfather's  sponsors. — (//.) 
This  genealogy  is  given  in  the  MSS.  with 
great  variations  in  the  spelling  of  the  names. 
1).  is  followed  in  the  text.  U.  gives  them 
thus:  Fearmael,  Teudubri,  Pascent,  Guo- 
dicator,  Morut,  Eldat,  Eldoc,  Paul,  Me- 
prit,  Briacat,  Pascent,  Gorthigernd,  Gui- 
tail,  Guitoilin,  Glou.  L.  gives  them  thus: 
Fearmael,  Teudbri,  Pasceand,  Guodicatur, 
Muirind,  Eltaid,  Eltog,  Paul,  ^epret, 
Bricad,  Pascent,  Gorthigern,  Gutail,  Gu- 
tolin,  Golu.  B.  has  them  thus:  Fermae), 
Teudbri,  Pascenn,  Guodicant,  Muriut, 
Eldat,  Eldoc,  Paul,  Meprit,  Bricat,  Pas- 
cent,  Gorthigern,  Gutail,  Gutolin,  Glou. 


107 


son  of  Tedubre,  son  of  Paistcennc,  son  of  Guodicann,  son  of  Morut, 
son  of  Alltad,  son  of  Eldoc,  son  of  Paul,  son  of  Mepric,  son  of 
Briacat,  son  of  Pascent,  son  of  Gortigern,  son  of  Guatal,  son  of  Gua- 
tulin,  son  of  Glou.  Bonus,  Paul,  and  Muron  were  three  other  sons  of 
Glou,  who  built  the  city  of  Caer  Glou",  i.  e.  Glusester,  on  the  banks 
of  the  Severn.  German  returned  home  to  his  own  country6. 

XXIII.  At  this  time  Patrick  was  in  captivity  in  Eri  with  Miliue ; 
and  it  was  at  this  time  that  Pledius  was  sent  to  Eri  to  preach  to 
them.  Patrick  went  to  the  south'  to  study,  and  he  read  the  canons 
with  German.  Pledius  was  driven  from  Eri,  and  he  went  and  served 
God  in  Fordun  in  Mairne.  Patrick  came  to  Eri  after  studying,  and 
baptized  the  men  of  Eri.  From  Adam  to  the  baptizing  of  the  men  of 
Eri  icere  five  thousand  three  hundred  and  thirty  years.  To  de- 
scribe the  miracles  of  Patrick  to  you,  ( )  men  of  Eri,  were  to  briny 

water 
suam."— (T.) 

*  To  the  south — In  the  Latin,  "  Romam 
usque  perrexit ;"  but  there  is  no  mention 
there  of  Patrick's  studying  the  canons 
with  German.  In  describing  the  mission 
of  Palladius,  the  Latin  adopts  the  words 
of  Prosper  in  his  Chronicle:  "  Missus  est 
Palladius  episcopus  primitus  a  Celestinn 
episcopo  et  papa  Roma;  ad  Scottos  in 
Christum  convertendos."— (T.)  The  trans- 
lator of  Nennius  deservedly  rejects  his 
sketch  of  St.  Patrick's  life  and  miracles, 
as  a  mere  drop  of  water  or  grain  of  sea- 
sand.  But  he  is  himself  much  at  va- 
riance with  the  popular  hagiography,  if 
he  conceives  Patrick  to  have  been  still  a 
captive  to  Miliue  Mc  Cuboin,  the  Dalara- 
dian  magician,  at  the  time  when  Palladius 
was  sent.  The  mission  of  St.  Patrick  to 


For  Gloucester  we  have  Gluseghter,  B. 
Gluseicther,  L.  Glusester,  U.,  D.  —  (T.) 
For  some  remarks  on  Gorthigern,  son  of 
Guatal,  see  Additional  Notes,  No.  XVI. 

d  Caer  Glou. — This  statement  is  not  in 
all  the  Latin  copies,  and  is  deservedly  ac- 
counted fabulous.  For  Caer  Gloui  or 
Gloucester  is  the  Glevum  of  the  Itinera- 
rium  Antonini,  a  work  not  later  than  the 
fourth  century.  And  the  idea  of  Gloui 
building  cities  east  of  the  Severn  implies  a 
measure  of  Celtic  independence  and  so- 
vereignty which  did  not  exist  in  the  days 
of  the  Itinerary,  nor  in  those  of  Vorti- 
gern's  grandfather — (H.) 

e  To  his  own  country. —  t)i  acallairii, 
B.,  L.  U.  omits  this  clause  altogether. 
In  the  Latin  it  is  "  Sanctus  Germanus 
reversus  est  post  mortem  illius  ad  patriam 


Pa 


io8 


liairep  gainem  mapa  ano  fin,  i  lecpeao  oaib  pechaino  co  pe  can 
cumaip  -]  can  paipneip  inoipm  co  leicc.] 

XXIV.  Ro  jab  rpa  neapc  Sovran  pop  bpearanib  lap  n-eg  ^op- 
cigeapno.  l?o  gab  Ochca  mac  Gnjipc,  pigi  poppo.  dp  a  uioi  no 
cachaijio  Qpcup  -]  bpeacain  piu  co  calma,  -\  Do  pao  Da  each  oeag 
ooib,  .1.  in  ceD  each  in  n-inobeap  ^ein  5  in  canaipce  •]  in  cpeap  -| 


Ireland  falls  upon  the  Annus  Mundi  4382, 
and  not  on  5330,  according  to  the  Hebrew 
chronology  of  O'Flaherty — (//.) 

8  To  a  lake Upce    po   rhalman,  L. 

Upce  DO  loch,  U.,  D.  Upci  po  lap  -|  licip 
janeurii  mapa,  B.  The  clause  which  fol- 
lows, within  brackets,  in  the  text,  is  in- 
serted from  L. — (T.) 

11  Arthur  and  the  Britons — Mr.  Ber- 
tram's edition  inserts,  before  the  mention 
of  Arthur,  "  hie  expliciunt  gesta  Brito- 
num  a  Nennio  conscripta  ;"  from  which 
some  have  thought  this  history  was  ori- 
ginally silent  as  to  Arthur.  But  all  MSS. 
agree  in  containing  his  legend,  and  the 
mistake  arose  thus  : — That  colophon  is 
subjoined  to  the  Acts  of  St.  Patrick  ;  but. 
in  some  copies,  particularly  the  Marcian 
or  Mr.  Gunn's,  those  Acts  form  the  con- 
clusion of  the  Historia;  and  some  of  the 
editorial  copyists,  while  transferring  them 
to  the  middle,  took  along  with  them  the 
expliciunt  or  colophon — (//.)  In  the  fol- 
lowing account  of  Arthur's  battles,  the 
text  of  all  the  MSS.  of  the  Irish  is  very 
corrupt,  particularly  D. ;  it  has  been  cor- 
rected by  the  help  of  the  Latin  from  B., 
L.,  and  U.,  but  it  would  be  a  waste  of  time 


in 


to  specify  all  the  variations,  most  of  which 
are  the  blunders  of  mere  ignorance.  The 
names  of  the  several  battle-fields  are  very 
variously  given  in  the  Irish  MSS.  The 
following  is  a  list  of  them :  The  first  was 
at  Inbuip  5^e'P>  U.  Inbbep  J)le|nt  L. 
^lem,  B.  Inobep  ^'-a"1>  ^*-  In  the  place 
of  the  next  four  all  agree.  The  sixth  at 
6pu  6appa  in  B.  and  L.  6upa,  D.  6pu 
ftapu,  U.  The  seventh  at  Caill  Cuillioom 
.1.  caic  coic  Cleiouman,  D.  Cciill  Cai- 
liooin  .1.  cmc  coic  Cleoeb,  U.  Chucain 
.1.  caic  coic  Cleb,  L.  Caill  Cuoom  .1. 
caic  coic  Cloceb,  B.  The  eighth  at  lep 
^uinneam,  U.  Ceipc  Cumpein,  L.  ^epc 
JJuinioom,  I).  (It  should  be  mentioned 
that  D.  apparently  omits  the  seventh  and 
gives  the  eighth  twice;  but  this  is  a  mere 
slip  of  the  scribe,  who  wrote  u  h-occti, 
when  lie  ought  to  have  written  in  pecc- 
muo).  f,ep  5uinPeuln,  H.  After  the 
eighth  battle  I),  inserts  the  clause  which 
in  the  other  copies,  and  in  the  Latin,  fol- 
lows the  twelfth,  —  Ip  arm  pmoe  po  imop- 
coip  Qpciup  occcil.  in  aenlo,  -|  ba  leip 
copcap  inocib  peo  uile, — and  then  goes 
on  (as  in  the  text)  to  speak  of  his  having 
there  carried  the  image  of  the  Virgin. 


109 

water  to  a  lake8,  and  they  are  more  numerous  than  the  sands  of  the 
sea,  and  I  shall,  therefore,  pass  them  over  without  giving  an  abstract 
or  narrative  of  them  just  now. 

XXIV.  After  the  death  of  Gortigern,  the  power  of  the  Saxons 
prevailed  over  the  Britons.  Ochta,  the  son  of  Hengist,  assumed  govern- 
ment over  them.  Arthur,  however,  and  the  Britons"  fcmght  bravely 
against  them,  and  gave  them  twelve  battles',  viz.,  the  first  battle  at 

the 


The  ninth  battle  was  at  Cacpaij  mo 
teomain,  U.,  L.,  B.  Cachpaig  mo  £e- 
j;oin,  D.,  which  agrees  with  the  Latin. 
The  tenth  at  Robpoir,  U.,  L.,  B.  TJob- 
puio,  D.  The  eleventh  is  omitted  in  all 
the  Irish  MSS.,  nor  do  they  name  the 
twelfth  ;  in  what  they  say  of  it  they  all 
agree  with  the  text  except  D.,  where  the 
scribe  wrote  u  DO  oej  if  unn  po  mapb,  and 
there  stopped  short  without  finishing  the 
sentence — (T.) 

'  Twelve  battles. — This  was  the  favourite 
and  mystic  number  of  the  British  nations. 
St.  Patrick  is  made  (by  the  author  of  the 
very  barbarous  productions  bearing  his 
name)  to  boast  of  having  gone  through 
duodena  pericula.  It  is  unknown  where 
these  battles  were  fought,  and  it  is  mere 
guess-work,  from  resemblance  of  sound 
and  other  trifles.  I.  Gleni,  or  Glein,  is  a 
name  consistently  given,  and  therefore  not 
to  be  treated  ad  libitum.  The  river  Glem 
by  Glemford,  in  Lincolnshire,  is  recom- 
mended by  Gale.  There  is  also  the  Glen 
of  Glendale,  in  Northumberland,  fluvius 
Gleni,  in  which  Paulinus  baptized  multi- 
tudes. Bede,  Hist,  ii.,  cap.  14 — II.,  III., 


I V.,  V.  The  river  Duglas  or  Dubhglas  may 
be  the  dark  green  or  blue(i'oriy/a*iseither), 
or  rather  the  dark  stream,  from  the  Gaelic 
glaise,  a  stream.  It  is  said  to  be  the  Dow- 
glas  in  Lancashire,  that  runs  by  Wigan. — 
R.  Higd.  Polychron.  p.  225,  Gale.  But  if 
so  the  regio  Linuis,  Linnuis,  Linnis,  or 
Limus,  cannot  be  Lindsey,  Lindissiof  Bede, 
in  Lincolnshire.  Indeed,  the  Archdeacon 
of  Huntingdon  calls  it  regio  Innis.—Ilist.  ii. 
p.  3 1 3.  Mr.Whitaker  speaks  of  a  local  tra- 
dition that  three  battles  were  fought  near 
Wigan,  but  omits  to  observe,  that  the  tra- 
dition probably  came  from  those  very  chro- 
nicles, of  which  it  is  therefore  insufficient 
to  determine  the  sense — Hist.  Manches- 
ter, ii.  p.  36,  43.  There  is  also  the  river 
Douglas,  in  Clydesdale,  more  famous  for 
the  family  who  took  its  name,  than  for 
its  own  dark  waters.  VI.  Bassas  of  Nen- 
nius,  Lusas  of  the  Marcian  manuscript, 
is  unascertainable.  But  a  place  called 
Eglwysau  Bassa,  the  Churches  of  Bassa, 
is  prominently  mentioned  in  Llywarch's 
Elegy  upon  Cynddylan.  Near  that  place, 
Cynddylan  and  Elvanof  Powys  were  slain 
by  the  Lloegrians,  or  Britons  west  of 


1  IO 


in  ceachpamao  -|  in  cuiceao  car  pop  bpu  Oubjlaipi  ;  in  peipeab 
car  pop  bpu  bappa ;  ocup  in  peacrmab  car  a  Caill  Caillmoin  .1. 
caicCoic  CleiDuman;  in  roccmab  cacim  lepc  5ul™DO'n  5  T  ant) 
pin  po  imapcop  Cfpciip  Delb  TTluipe  pop  a  jualaino,  -|  po  ceiljiprap 
na  pajam.  In  nomao[car]  i  caclipaij  im>  Lejoin;  in  oechineatj 

in 


Severn,  and  were  buried  in  the  Eghvysau, 
of  which  the  plural  number  indicates  some 
great  establishment,  probably  conventual. 
Owen's  Llywarch,  p.  82-84.     Llywarch, 
apud  Areh.  Myvyr.  p.  109,   1 10.     How- 
ever, Mr.  Carte  has  imagined  the  Bassas 
to  be  the  river  of  Basingstoke  and  Basing, 
in  Hants  ;    i.  p.  205.     VII.  The  seventh 
was  cad  coed  Celyddon,  the  battle  of  the 
wood  of  Forests.     Celyddon  is  a  general 
name  for  any  traet  of  woodlands  so  exten- 
sive as  to  furnish  shelter  and  bailie  pur- 
suers, of  which  the  ancient  orthography 
was     expressed    in    Latin,    Caledonia    or 
Calidonia. — See  Florus,  cap.  xi.  This  bat- 
tle may  have  been  fought  in  any  eelyd- 
dnii  or  vast  forests;  in  the  sylva  Caledonia 
of  Caesar  in  Florus;  in  Caledonia   north 
of  Clyde;  or  where  the  fortress  of  Pen- 
savle-eoed  was  built.     Geoffrey  of  Mon- 
uiouth,   ix.   eap.   3,   places   the  battle  of 
Nemus   Caledonis  in  Lindsey,   near  Lin- 
coln ;     but  as    he    clearly   mistakes     the 
position    of  Caer  Loid   Coed,    his   recti- 
fied sense  would  place  it  in  the  Sylva  El- 
mete  of  Leeds.    VIII.  Castellum  Gunnion, 
Guinion,  Guimer.     This  place  is  simply 
unknown.     The   Vinovium   of  Ptolemy, 
Vinovia   of  Antoninus,    and    Vinonia  of 


Kavennas,  is  mentioned  in  Messrs.  Gunn's 
and  Stevenson's  Notes.     It  is  now  called 
Binehester,  in  Durham.     There  is  also  a 
Vennonis  (High-Cross),  otherwise  Vino- 
nium,  in  Antoninus.     Gwyniawn,  in  mo- 
dern spelling,  is  probably  the  word   in- 
tended by  Nennius,  whatever  place  he  may 
have    meant.      An  interpolation  (absent 
from  Marcus  and  various    other   MSS., 
as   well    as  from   this   translation),    adds 
to  the    portrait  of  the  Holy  Virgin   an 
account  of  a  wooden  cross  made  at  Jeru- 
salem, whereof  the  rcliques  were  preserved 
at  Wedale,   near  Melrose.     IX.  Urbs  Le- 
gionis   or  Caer   Lleon,  was  a  name  com- 
monly applied   to   two   cities,  that   upon 
the    Usk    in   Gwent   or   Monmouthshire, 
and  that  upon  the  Dee,   now  called  Ches- 
ter.    It  does  not  appear  which  is  speci- 
fied, but  northern  places  seem  rather  to 
be  iu  question.    X.  Upon  the  river  Trat- 
treuroit,    Trath-treviroit,     Tribruit,    Iti- 
broit,    or  Arderit,  it    may   be    observed 
that  the  four  first  readings  represent  the 
same,  and  the  real  appellation;  while  the 
intrusion  of  the  celebrated,  but  not  Ar- 
thurian,  battle  of  Arderydd  is  an  imper- 
tinence. A  trath  or  traeth  is  not  properly 
a  river,  but  an  inlet  of  the  sea,  a  tract  of 


1 1 1 


the  mouth  of  the  river  Glein  ;  the  second,  the  third,  the  fourth, 
and  the  fifth  battle,  on  the  brink  of  the  river  Dubhglas  ;  the  sixth 
battle  on  the  brink  of  the  Bassa ;  the  seventh  battle  in  the  wood 
of  Callidon,  that  is,  Gait  Coit  Cleiduman  ;  the  eighth  battle  at 
Lesc  Guinidon  ;  it  was  here  Arthur  carried  the  image  of  Mary  on 
his  shoulder,  and  drove  out  the  Pagans ;  the  ninth  battle  at  the  city  of 

Legion  ; 


marsh,  or  other  shallow  and  sandy  place 
usually  covered  with  water;  such  as  the 
Traeth  Mawr,  Traeth  Bychan,  and  Traeth 
Artro  in  Merioneth,  and  Traeth  Taffe  in 
Glamorgan;  and  the  word  traeth-Uyn  (ap. 
Camden,  ii.  46),  a  quagmire.  "  Dicitur 
autem  Traeth  lingua  Cambrica  sabulum 
mari  influente  longius,  et  se  retrahente, 
nudatum." — Giraldus  Camb.  Itin.  Cambr. 
ii.  cap.  6.  Of  Traeth  Trev  there  is  no  room 
for  doubt ;  but  the  difficulty  is  to  meet  the 
analogies  of  the  ancient  Welsh  spelling, 
which  is  preserved  in  roit  and  ruit.  Per- 
haps Traethtrevrhwydd  (the  frith,  or 
marshy  channel,  of  the  open  or  unen- 
closed habitation)  is  the  name.  But  the 
name  is  easier  found  than  the  place.  XL 
The  eleventh  battle  (here  omitted)  was  at 
Agued  Cathregenion,  Cath-Bregion,  or 
Thabregomion ;  or,  as  Marcus  has  it,  "in 
Monte  Breguoiu  ....  quern  nos  Cat  Bre- 
gion  appellamus."  Humfrey  Llwyd  says, 
"  Edenburgum,  Scotorum  regia,  olim  ab 
Eboraco  Britannorum  rege  condita,  et 
Castell  Mynydd  Agned,  id  est,  Castellum 
Montis  Agneti,  postea  vero  Castellum 
Virginum,  dicta." — Comment,  p.  62.  That 
suffices  for  the  place.  As  to  its  additional 


name,  we  see  clearly  from  Marcus,  as  well 
as  from  the  reason  of  the  thing,  that  the 
Cat  is  added  in  consequence  of  the  battle; 
and  I  believe  that  Agned  Brechion,  Ag- 
netum  Maculis-distinctorum,  was  simply 
expressive  of  the  nation  to  whom  that 
fortress  is  said  to  have  belonged,  Edin- 
burgh of  the  Picts.  XII.  The  place,  which 
is  omitted  here,  was  Mons  Badonis.  "  Ad 
annum  obsessionis  Montis  Badonici,  qui 
prope  Sabrinum  ostium  habetur,  novis- 
simaque  fere  de  furciferis  non  minima,- 
stragis." — Gildas,  Hist.  cap.  26.  Lands- 
downe  Hill,  above  Bath,  is  supposed  to 
be  signified;  and  no  doubt  can  exist  of 
Badon  being  Bath,  or,  more  strictly,  the 
Baths.  Mr.  Carte's  conceit,  that  Mount 
Badon  is  Badbury  Hill,  on  the  borders  of 
Wiltshire,  towards  Berkshire,  is  fully  con- 
futed by  "  prope  Sabrinum  ostium."  The 
"  novissima  fere  strages"  of  Gildas  sug- 
gested to  the  Historia  Britonum  its  diut- 
decimum  bellum,  or  last  battle — (//.) 
For  the  history  of  Arthur  and  his  twelve 
battles,  see  "  Assertio  incomparabilis  Ar- 
thuri  autore  Joanne  Lelando,  Antiqua- 
rio."  Lond.  1544.  Eeprinted  in  Leland's 
Collectanea,  vol.  v.  p.  17,  &c — (T.) 


I  12 


in  Pobpmo;  a  DO  oeaj  ip  ann  po  mapbab  [la  Idim  Qpcuip  prl.  ap  occ 
cecaib  i  n-aen  lo,  -|  ba  leipcopcup  incib  peo  uile].  NochuinDgioip 
imoppo  Sa^ain  na  popcacr  ooib  a  ^epmanio  -\  pip  popo,  co  h-loa 
ip  eipioe  ceo  jii$  po  gab  uaoaib  ipop  inobip  Onic  .1.  ppi  Umbpia, 
acuaio.  loa  piliup  Gabba.  Gnpleo  pilia  Goumni  coipeac  pmm  po 
baipceo  DO  Saxanaib  in  n-inip  bpeacan. 


DO 


INOSI 


awt>  so  sis. 


XXV.   In  ceo  injnao  inopi    bpearari  Loch  Lomnan  ;  I;:,  imp 
ann;  If.  cappaj  -]  I/,  ppur  ino,  -|   aeri  j^urh  ap,  .1.  Lenmain. 

In 


i  Eight  hundred  and  forty  men,  Sj-c. — So 
all  but  Gunn's  MS.,  which  is  represented 
as  having  DCCCCXL.  This  statement  is 
less  hyperbolical,  though  it  may  be  more 
mysterious,  in  its  real  than  in  its  ap- 
parent sense.  Like  7  to  the  Hebrews, 
12  was  to  the  Britons  the  absolute 
number,  significant  of  perfection,  pleni- 
tude, and  completeness.  But  they  had 
also  a  way  of  expressing  that  number  by 
various  other  numbers,  of  which  the 
cyphers  added  together  make  12.  So, 
at  his  great  synod  of  Llan-Ddewi  Brevi, 
St.  David  assembled  7140  saints;  at  the 
battle  of  knives,  or  of  Hengist's  ban- 
quet, Eidiol  Gadran,  with  the  branch  of  a 
roan  tree,  slew  660  Saxons  ;  and  here, 
Arthur,  with  his  own  sword,  slays  840. 
In  some  remarkable  instances  the  num- 
bers 147  and  363  were  so  employed;  and 
from  each  number  deductions  of  seven 
and  three  were  made  respectively,  the 
object  of  which  affected  deductions  was  to 


shew  the  principle;  for  7  from  147  leaves 
i  and  4,  i.  e.  5,  being  the  remainder  of 
7  from  1 2 ;  and  in  the  like  manner  3  from 
363  leaves  9.  The  direct  demonstration 
of  the  fact  is  found  in  the  statement,  where 
twelve  years  of  well-known  chronology 
(the  reign  of  one  king)  are  termed  teir 
lili/nedd  trngcln  a  thrycltunt,  3  63  years. — 
Cyvoesi  Merddin  st.  106.  The  motives  for 
such  a  practice  are  not  obvious.  In  Triad 
85,  the  number  21,000,  thrice  repeated, 
is  characteristic  of  three.  The  matter  is 
also  curious,  as  regards  the  main  principle 
of  what  we  term  Arabic  numerals. — (//.) 
k  Until  Ida. — "  Usque  ad  tempus  quo 
Ida  filius  Eobba  regnavit,  qui  i'uit  primus 
rex  in  Bernicia,  id  est,  Iberneich,  de  gente 
Saxonurn."-  Nennius,  cap.  63.  Cambrice 
y  Berneich  or  Bryneich.  This  is  the  Inbh- 
er  Onic  of  the  Irish  translator,  which, 
however,  he  correctly  places  north  of 
Humber.- — (//.)  This  passage  is  greatly 
corrupted  in  L. :  co  h-ioa  is  transformed 


Legion  ;  the  tenth  battle  at  Robruid;  in  the  twelfth  battle  there  were 
slain,  by  the  hand  of  Arthur,  eight  hundred  and  forty  men'  in  one 
day,  and  he  was  victorious  in  all  these  battles.  And  the  Saxons 
sought  assistance  from  Germany,  and  it  was  from  thence  they  brought 
their  kings  until  the  time  fl/'Ida",  who  was  the  first  king  that  ruled 
over  them  at  this  side  of  Inbher  Onic,  that  is,  to  the  north  of  Umbria 
[Humber].  Ida  was  the  son  of  Ebba.  Enfled,  the  daughter  of  Edwin1, 
was  the  first  of  the  Saxons  that  was  baptized  in  the  island  of  Britain. 


CONCERNING    THE  WONDERS  OF  THE  ISLAND  OF  BRITAIN™  HERE. 

XXV.  The  first  wonder  of  the  island  of  Britain  is  Loch  Lein- 
non;  there  are  sixty  islands  and  sixty  rocks  in  it,  and  sixty  streams 

flow  into  it,  and  one  stream  out  of  it,  that  is  the  Leamam". 

The 


into  conao,  and  uaocub  ipop  into  uceibe 
pop,  which  is  nonsense.  For  Inber  ( )nic 
this  MS.  reads  Inbeneopao  .1.  abpa  a 
cuaich.  D.  reads  Inobip  Onic  .1.  pop 
muip  acuaio.  U.  reads  In  bene  poic  .1. 
ppi  Umbpia  aruaio,  and  B.  has  it  In 
benepoc  .1.  ppi  Ubpa  u  cuair — (T.) 

'  Enfled,  daughter  of  Edwin. — Her  bap- 
tism by  St.  Paulinus  is  related  in  Bedu, 
2,  cap.  9.  The  mention  of  her  occurs  in 
the  midst  of  those  "Saxonum  et  aliarum 
genealogies  gentium",  which  Nennius, 
at  the  suggestion  of  Beulan  the  priest, 
"  noluit  scribere;"  but  which  Bertram 
and  Mr.  Stevenson  have  printed  from 
varying  copies.  The  remarks  originally 
made  on  the  mode  in  which  the  Ilistoria 
was  treated  explain  the  force  of  scribere. 
Nennius  was  dissuaded  from  including 
them  in  his  edition.  The  translator  Gua- 

IRISH  ARCH.  SOC.    l6.  Q 


nach  must  have  been  in  possession  of  the 
Genealogise,  but  imitated  Beulan's  pupil 
in  the  rejection  of  them,  only  culling  out 
of  them  this  sentence  about  Eanfled,  be- 
cause of  the  religious  interest  it  possessed. 
—(//.)  The  MSS.  of  the  Irish  version  dif- 
fer here,  as  in  other  cases  where  there  are 
proper  names:  loa  mac  Cuba,  Ganplech 
in^en  Gomn,  U.  loa  piliup  Gabba.  GM- 
pleip;  pilia  GouiFii,  1).  loa  mac  Guba. 
Gunpleb  inj;en  Gouin,  B.  loa  mac  Goba. 
Gnpleo,  no  Gene,  mgeun  debaui,  L. 
Here  the  copies  of  this  work  in  the 
Book  of  Ballymote  and  in  the  Leiibhar 
na  h-Uidhri  end;  at  the  end  of  the  copy 
of  the  Book  of  Ballvmote  are  the  words 
pmic  oo'n  6peacnocnp,  "•  liritainism  (i.e. 
the  history  of  Britain)  ends." — (T.) 

m   Wonders  of  the  island  of  Britain  — 
The    legend   of  St.  Patrick   seems  to  be 


In  c-mjjnao  canaipce,  inobeap  ppocha  Upanon  ap  Ima6  6  bonn 
ppia  aen  ruino,  -]  cpaig  amuil  [cac]  muip  eile. 
In  cpeap  injnao,  na  h-uipce  ceinoce. 
In  cearpamao  injnao,  cobap  palaino  moce. 
In  cuiceao  [ingnao],  Da  builg  uameince  inbep  Sabpamoe  ;   oo 

grim 


scriptum  in  all  the  copies,  and  there  is  not 
"  aliquod  volumen  Britannia;"  that  con- 
tains it  not.    But  it  is  otherwise,  with  the 
Genealogia:;  and  also  with  the  Mirabilia, 
which   various   copies,   and   the  two  first 
editors  in  print,  have  nut  included.     Mr. 
Stevenson  has  printed  them,  to  the  num- 
ber of  thirteen,  which  is  also  the  number 
in  the  Irish.     But  the  sixth  and  seventh 
of  tlie  Irish  translation  are  made  out  of 
the   seventh   of  the  Latin  ;  the  eleventh 
is    the    twelfth  ;   the   twelfth   and    thir- 
teenth do  not  occur  in  the  Latin;  neither 
do   the  Latin  sixth  and  thirteenth  occur 
in  the  translation.    The  Wall  ire  Mirabilia, 
given  in  verse  by  Ralph  Iligden,  appear 
to  me  to  be  only  twelve  in  number;  but 
it  is  uncertain  whether  one   mirabile  at 
Basingwerk  is  intended,  or  two,  in  which 
latter  case  there  are  thirteen.     There  is 
not  above  one  of  them  that  coincides  with 
Nennius's;    but,   however   varied   in   the 
selection  of  instances,  the  mirabilia  seem 
to  have  had  a  fixed  and  conventional  num- 
ber.    That  number,  13,   1  conceive  to  be 
the  same  sacred  number,  1 2,  above  spoken 
of;  the  difference  being  that  of  the  zodi- 
acal  number  with   or  without  the  sun, 
and  the  apostolic  number  with  or  without 
its  Head.     The   British    13   is   not  quite 


unlike  the  Hebrew  8,  being  the  over- 
flowing of  fulness.  The  thirteen  natu- 
ral mirabilia  of  Britain  form  a  counter- 
part to  its  thirteen  tlysau,  i.  e.  jewels, 
toys,  or  trinkets,  being  magical  talismans 
of  the  most  portentous  virtue  ;  of  which 
a  catalogue  is  printed  in  the  Mabinogi 
of  Kilhwch,  p.  353-5,  and  another  in 
Ilynavion  Cymreig,  p.  6j.  Caervyrddin, 
1823.— (J2). 

n  The  Letimain  —  Lake  Lomond  in 
Scotland  is  here  greatly  shorn  of  its  mar- 
vels. The  Latin  places  an  eagle  upon 
each  rock,  cap.  67,  Stevenson.  But  Geof- 
frey adds,  that  once  a  year  the  sixty 
eagles  assembled  together,  and  sang  aloud 
their  prophecies  of  whatever  events  were 
about  to  happen — Lib.  ix.  cap.  6.  Also 
in  Gervas  of  Tilbury,  JJe  Rcynu  Jiriton/im, 
p.  44.  The  Leamain  here,  and  Lenin  or 
Leun  of  the  Latin,  is  the  river  Levin, 
flowing  out  of  Lomond  into  the  Clyde, 
by  the  famous  fortress  of  Alclyde  or  Dun- 
barton (//•)  L.  reads  £och  f.omu.  D. 

makes  the  number  of  islands,  rocks  and 
streams  ;cl.  instead  of  Ir.  ;  the  transposi- 
tion of  the  ;c  is  easy,  but  the  number  of 
rocks  and  streams  is  written  in  full,  ceach- 
paca.  L.  reads  sixty  in  each  case  ;  and 
after  the  sixty  rocks,  adds,  •)  meo  apoib 


The  second  wonder  is  the  mouth  of  the  stream  Iran  on",  which 
is  filled  from  the  bottom  with  one  wave,  and  ebbs  like  every  other 
sea. 

The  third  wonderp  is  the  fiery  waters. 

The  fourth  wonder  is  the  fountain  of  salt  which  is  there. 

The  fifth  wonder,  i.  e.  two  bubbles"  of  froth  at  the  mouth  of  the 

Sabrain 


in  each.  Laemhain  (in  the  Latin  copies 
Lenin  and  Leun),  the  name  of  the  river 
running  out  of  this  lake,  is  also  the  name 
of  a  river  in  the  Co.  Kerry  in  Ireland, 
which  runs  into  the  Lake  of  Killarney, 
and  of  another  in  Scotland,  from  which  the 
district  of  Lennox,  anciently  Leamhain, 
or  Magh  Leamhna,  has  its  name. — (T.) 

°  Tranon — Trans  Hannoni,  Thrannoni, 
Strannoni,  Trahannoni,  is  Traeth  Antoni, 
the  iustuary  of  the  Anton  or  Southampton 
river,  Ptolemy's  Mouth  of  the  Trisanton, 
Tpiff&vrtavof  irora^ov  t(c/3o\ai  —  See  Gibson's 
Camden's  Britannia,  p.  212;  Nennius,  cit. 
ibid.  In  Italian  romance,  Bevis  of  Hamp- 
ton is  Buovo  d'Antona.  The  name  Tris- 
Anton  comes  from  tri,  three,  indicating 
the  triple  form  of  the  enclosure  made  by 
the  Isle  of  Wight,  and  consisting  of  the 
Hampton  river  and  the  two  channels  of 
Ryde  and  Yarmouth;  as  also  Claus- 
entum,  for  the  same  waters,  signified  the 
Enclosure  of  Anton.  The  name  Anton 
itself  is  simply  free  from  leaves  or  billows, 
as  all  sheltered  waters  are,  to  the  extent 
and  degree  of  their  shelter.  This  foolish 
wonder  seems  only  to  describe  the  vio- 
lence of  a  spring-tide. — (//).  L.  reads, 


inbeup  ppoca  lineup  ppi  h-en  cumo,  -| 
cpajio  anilam  can  muip  .1.  &ichne. — 
(T.) 

p  Third  wonder.  —  This  is  in  regions 
Huich.  The  waters  were  in  a  paved  bath, 
and  were  either  hot  or  cold,  according  to 
the  bather's  wish.  The  fourth  wonder, 
in  the  same  region,  is  no  wonder  at  all ; 
but  the  writer  imagined  there  was  no  salt 
in  the  earth,  only  in  the  sea. — (77.) 

11  Two  bubbles. — I),  reads  ou  bmlj  hil- 
luin  biclie,  which  is  plainly  corrupt.  The 
reading  of  L.  has  been  followed.  In  the 
Latin,  "  Duo  Rig  Habren,"  which  is  inter- 
preted, "  duo  reyes  Sabrina; :"  pij;  is  a  king 
in  Irish;  but  could  duo  rig  mean  the  two 
rams,  from  the  Celtic  peire,  which  would 
be  easily  confounded  with  pi£  in  sound  ? 
The  Latin  adds:  "etbellum  faciunt  inter 
se  in  modum  arietum." — (T.)  The  Latin 
says,  "When  the  sea  is  poured  into  the 
mouth  of  the  Severn  to  a  fall  head  of  water, 
["Ad  sissam — in  unaqufiquesissfi."  Sissit 
is  a  known  corruption  of  assisa,  and  I  do 
not  clearly  know  what  the  assize  of  water 
is,  but  I  suppose  it  to  be  water  brought, 
to  a  head,  as  at  mill-dams.  Ducange  cites, 
from  a  charter  of  A.  U.  811,  "aquas  et 
2 


n6 


jmo  rpoio,  1  bpipeao  each  a  ceile  Dib,  -|  najaic  pop  culu  oo 
pmipe,  ocup  conopecaio  oopioipe,  ip  amlail)  [pin]  bio  Do  speap. 

In  .ui.eb  [ingnao],  Loch  heilic  cen  uipce  mo  na  app,  -|  ceanel 
pain  eipc  ann  cacha  h-aipoe,  -|  m  poich  oo  ouine  ace  co  jlun;  .??. 
cubac  ina  pao,  -\  'na  lecheat)  ;  -]  bpuacha  apt>a[inie]. 

In  .un.rnao  [injnao],  ubla  pop  uinopmo  a^  ppur  ^oaip. 

In  c-ochcmno  in^nao,  pochlaio  pil  i  cnp  5uenr  1  Saecn  cln 
bif  a  p. 

In  noman,  alroip  pil  h-i  toinjjpaib,  puilngio  e  in  aep  comaipo 
cioe  pip  o  calmain  |>uap. 

In  tieiclirneao  [in^iao],  cloch  pil  pop  capn  in  6ocuilr,  -|  a  ceal- 
cao  con  Qpcuip  more  ;  -|  cio  beapap  pon  Doman  po  ^elia  pop  in 
capno  cenoa. 


assisas  aquarum."]  two  heaps  of  surf  aro 
collected  on  either  hand,  and  make  war 
against  each  other  like  rains;  and  each 
goes  against  the  other  and  they  collide  to- 


In 

There  is  also   a  place    in    Herefordshire 
called  Khydy  Ilelig.— (11.) 

*  Ash  tree. — Mr.  O'Donovan  informs  me 
that  umnpenn  is  still  in  use  in  the  north 


gether,  and  secede  again  from  each  other,      of  Ireland  as  the  name  of  the  ash   tree; 

in  the  south  and  west  the  common  word 
is  puitmpeoj  ;  but  the  old  form  is  pre- 
served in  the  name  of  the  river  pumn- 
pionn,  in  Cork,  and  in  that  of  Ctdi-Pu \nn- 
pionn,  or  Ashford  in  Limerick. — (T.) 

'  G'lent.  —  Gwent  was  chiefly  composed 
of  the  modern  Monmouthshire.  The 
cave  is  said  to  be  entitled  \Vith  Guint, 


and  advance  again  at  each  sissa 
This  seems  to  be  meant  for  a  description 
of  the  phenomenon  called  the  Bore,  which 
may  Ije  seen  in   some   [estuaries,   among 
others  at  Bridgewater — (//.) 

r  Luck  lleilic.  —  6lec,  L.—  (T).  This 
Loch  lleilic  is  called  in  the  Latin  Finnaun 
(or  Fountain)  of  Guur  Helic  or  Guor  Ile- 


lie,  and  said  to  be  twenty  feet  (not  cubits)      that  is,  Gwyth  Gwynt,  and  to  mean_/?«?/o 


square.  It  was  in  the  region  of  Cinlipluc, 
Cinlipluic,  or  Cinloipiauc.  Near  it,  and 
forming  but  one  wonder  with  it  in  the 
Latin,  was  the  river  Guoy  (Wye)  and  the 


venti.  Gicyth  is  rage  or  violence;  but 
also  means  a  channel  or  conduit  through 
which  anything  is  conveyed,  and  that  is 
perhaps  the  sense  here. — (77.)  The  word 


apple-bearing  ash.     Helic  means   willow-      pochlaio  (poclae,  L.),  a  cave,  is  now  ob- 
trees,  and  is  the  ancient   name   of  Ely.      solete,  but  is  explained  a  cave  in  Cormac's 


Sabrain.  They  encounter  and  break  each  other,  and  move  back 
again,  and  come  in  collision  again,  and  thus  continue  perpetually. 

The  sixth  wonder  is  Loch  Heilicr,  which  has  no  water  flowing  into 
it  or  out  of  it  ;  and  there  are  different  kinds  of  fishes  in  it  at  every 
side  ;  and.it  reaches,  in  its  depth,  only  to  a  man's  knee  ;  it  is  twenty 
cubits  in  length  and  in  breadth,  and  has  high  banks. 

The  seventh  wonder,  apples  upon  the  ash  tree5  at  the  stream  of 
Goas. 

The  eighth  wonder,  a  cave  which  is  in  the  district  of  Guent', 
having  wind  constantly  blowing  out  of  it. 

The  ninth  iconder,  an  altar  which  is  in  Loingraib".  It  is  supported 
in  the  air,  although  the  height  of  a  man  above  the  earth. 

The  tenth  wonder,  a  stone  which  is  upon  a  earn  in  Bocuilt,  with 
the  impression  of  the  paws  of  Arthur's  dogv  in  it;  and  though  it  should 
be  carried  away  to  any  part  of  the  world,  it  would  be  found  on  the 
same  earn  aqain. 


Glossary,  and  the  corresponding  word  in 
the  Latin  \sfovea.  With,  the  name  given  to 
this  cave  in  the  Latin,  and  explained  flatio 
venti,  seems  cognate  with  the  Irish  $aer, 
a  blast  of  wind. — (T.) 

u  Loingraib 12 etch,  L (T.)  The  altar 

of  Llwyngarth  in  Gower,  upon  the  sea 
shore.  The  story,  as  told  in  the  Latin,  was 
this.  St.  Iltutus  beheld  a  ship  approaching, 
which  contained  the  body  of  a  saint,  and  an 
altar  suspended  in  air  over  it.  lie  buried 
him  under  the  altar,  and  built  a  church 
over  it ;  but  the  altar  continued  suspended 
in  the  air.  It  was  but  slightly  raised ;  for  a 
regulus  or  local  prince,  being  doubtful, 
proved  the  fact  by  passing  his  rod  or 
wand  under  it.  He  was  punished  for  his 


The 

incredulity  by  a  speedy  death  ;  and  ano- 
ther man,  who  peeped  under  it.  by  blind- 
ness.—^/.) 

v  Arthur's  dog.  —  The  impression  upon 
the  earn  in  Buellt  is  said  to  have  been  made 
by  Arthur's  dog,  Cavall  or  Caball,  during 
the  chase  of  the  porcus  Troynt,  i.  e.  the 
Twrch  Trwyth.  That  famous  boar  had  been 
a  king,  but  was  thus  transformed,  and  one 
Taredd  was  his  father.  He  was  the  head 
and  summit  of  that  pile  of  porcine  allu- 
sions which  are  known  to  form  a  peculi- 
arity of  British  superstition.  Llywareh 
Hen  says,  in  a  proverbial  tone, 

u  In  need,  Twrch  [himself]  will  crack  jiipmts." 
Marwnud  Ci/nddyluii,  st.  89. 

Cavall  did,    indeed,  hunt    the    Twrch 


n8 


In.^i.ao  [in5naD],pilaDnaculi  peapann  Qpginji.can  .un.cjiaiji, 
can  .;r.,  in  can  .111.,  in  can  a  cuic  oeaj  ina  pao. 

In  Dana  [injnaD]  Deaj,  cloch  pop  cap  i  m-bpebic. 

In  cpeap  [injnao]  oeaj,  bpo  pop  bleich  Do  gpeap  im  TTlachlinD  i 
Cuil,  ace  Dia  Domnaij,  po  calmain  rnioppo  DO  cluinceap. 

Ctca  cippa  in  gpain  im  TTleaDon,  .1.  cippa  o  pilenn  span  can 
anaD. 

[Qca  ono  ann  cibpa  6  m-bpuchcao  cnaime  en  Do  jjpep  'pm  cfp 
checna.] 

Qcaic  Dna  coin  DiaipmiDe  ann  in  apaile  cappaig,  ~|  laic  po'n 
muip  amail  bio  i  n-aep. 

Qca  Dna  baippneach  pop  cappaij  ince,  .1.  baippneach  oc  Ceoil 
cpicha  mile  cemenn  on  muip. 

Qca  ono  jlenn  i  n-Qengnp,  ~|  eigim  cacha  h-aiochi  luain  anD, 
-)  ^lenD  Qilbe  a  ainm,  1  ni  peap  cia  tto  ^ni  puif. 


In 


maNCiNN  QNN  so  sis. 
XXVI.  .1.  in  ceaona,  cpai£  cen  muip. 


whom  Arthur  >lew  and  buried  at  that 
spot.  Llygad  Annir,  tlie  Eyo  of  Annir, 
name,  and  Amiir  i.  e. 


is   the    fountain' 


Trwyth,  but  he  was  Si'vwlch's  dog,  not 
Arthur's.  See  the  Mabinogi  of  Killnvch, 
p.  291.  The  Cam  Cavall  is  a  mountain 

in  Buellt  ;  and  the  publishers  of  the  Ma-  Lackland,  the  man's.      The  lengths  given 

binogion  have   given   an    engraving   of  a  in  tin-  printed  Latin  are  six,  nine,  and  fit- 

stone  with  a  mark  like  u  dog's  paw,  eon-  teen  feet;  and  the  author  attests  the  fact 

jectured  to  be  the  one  in  question.  —  Hid.  on  his  own  experience,  "  et  ego  solus  pro- 

p.  360.—  (If-)  bavi."  One  eopy  has  "  Oculus  Amirmur," 

"  Argingi  —  In  L.,  Gpjneoi.  —  (T.)  The  for   which   we  can  read   "  Oeulus   Annir 

land   of  Argingi    is  Erging   or  Ergengl,  Mawr."  —  (77.)    A  superstition  exactly  si- 

called  in  English  Erchenfield  or  Archen-  milar,  connected  with  the  Dwarf  at  Tara, 

field,    a   district  of  Herefordshire.     The  is  mentioned  by  Mr.  Petrie,  in  his  History 

sepulchre  in  question  was  beside  the  foun-  and  Antiquities    of  Tara    Hill,   p.    1  56. 

tain  called  Licat  Anir,  the  last  word  being  —  (  T.) 
the  appellation  of  one  of  Arthur's  knights,          "  Brebic.—  Clojh  up  dp  i  &pebic,  L.  — 


The  eleventh  wonder,  a  sepulchre  which  is  in  the  land  of  Argingiw, 
which  one  time  measures  seven  feet,  another  time  ten,  another  time 
twelve,  and  another  time  fifteen  feet  in  length. 

The  twelfth  wonder  is  a  stone  in  a  cataract  in  Brebicx. 

The  thirteenth  is  a  querny  which  constantly  grinds,  except  on 
Sunday,  in  Machlin  in  Cul.  It  is  heard  working  under  ground. 

The  well  of  the  grain  is  in  Meadon2,  that  is,  a  well  from  which 
grain  flows  without  ceasing. 

There  is  in  the  same  district  a  well  from  which  the  bones  of  birds 
are  constantly  thrown  up. 

There  are  also  innumerable  birds  there  on  a  certain  rock,  and 
they  dive  under  the  sea  as  if  into  the  air. 

There  are  also  limpets  on  the  rocks  there,  viz.,  limpets  at  Cecil, 
thirty  thousand  paces  from  the  sea. 

There  is  a  valley  in  Aengus',  in  which  shouting  is  heard  every 
Monday  night ;  Glen  Ailbe  is  its  name,  and  it  is  not  known  who 
makes  the  noise. 

THE  WONDERS  OF  MANANN"  DOWN  HERE. 

XXVI.  The  first  wonder  is  a  strand  without  a  sea. 

The 

This  wonder  does  not  occur  in  the  Latin.  meaoon  is  the  reading   of  L.     D.  reads 

I  cannot  explain  Brebic.—  (T.)  im    megonjjan,   "in  Megongan  ;"  but  I 

y  A  quern -No    notice  of  this  or  the  know  not  what  place  is  intended.  For  can 

succeeding  "wonders,"  is    found  in   the  anao,  L.  reads oo  jpep,  i.e.  always. — (TJ 

Latin.     Machlin  is  a  town  in  Ayrshire,  a  Aengus. — The    county   of  Angus  or 

a  district  of  Galloway,  in  the  stewartry  Forfar  in  Scotland.    The  words  and  clause 

of  Kyle ;  which  latter  is  here  styled  Cul  within  brackets,  and  some  other  corrtc- 

and  Cecil.     "  Eadbertus    cainpum    Cyil  tions  in  the  text,  are  from  L — (T.) 

cum  aliis  regionibus  suo  regno  addidit."  b  Wonders  of  Manann;  or  the  Isle  of 

— Bedce  Epitome,  A.  D.  750.      It  is  the  Man. — There   are  five  such  in   Nennius. 

same  word  as  the  Irish  Cul — (//•)  The  fourth  is  thus  stated :   A  stone  walks 

1  In  Meadon,  or  "  in  the  middle ;"    im  by  night   in   the  valley  of  Citheinn,  and 


120 


In  canafpoi,  ach  puil  pooa  o'n  muip,  -|  linaio  in  can  linap  muip 
"1  cpaijiD  in  can  cpaijip  muip. 

In  cpeap,  cloch  imcigeap  a  n-amcib  aca  i  n-^hno  Cinoenn,  -| 
cia  poceapoap  im  muip  no  i  n-eap  bib  pop  bpu  in  gleanoa  cetma. 

t>e  creuichNeachai6  iwcipic. 

XXVII.  Q  cip  Upaicia  cpa  canjaoap  Cpuicmj,.i.  clanDa  5ue" 
le/>in  mic  Gpcoil  iao.  Gjachtppi  a  n-anmant>a  Seipiup  bpacap 
can^anap  coipeac,  .1.  Solen,  Ulpa,  Necran,  Opopcan,  Qengup. 
Leceno.  para  a  ciaccana  .1.  poticopnup,  pi  Upaijia,  Do  pao 
gpat)  na  piuip,  co  po  cpiall  a  bpec  ^an  cocpa.  LoDap  lap  pin 

cap 

once  upon  a  time  was   thrown   into  the  nians  here,  according  to  the  learned."  But 

whirlpool  Cereuus,  which  is  in  the  mid-  what  follows  is  no  part  of  the  Britannia 

die  of  the  sea  called  Mene,  but  the  next  of  Nennius,  and  is  not  found  in  any  Latin 

day  was  undoubtedly  found  on  the  shore  copies.  The  Book  of  Ballymote  is  adopted 

of  the   above-named   valley. — (//.)      The  as  the  basis  of  the  text. — (T.)    For  a  dis- 

second  wonder,  "Mons  qui  gyratur  tribus  sertation  on  the  origin  and  history  of  the 

vicihus  in  anno,"  is  omitted  in  both   the  Picts,  see  Additional  Notes,  No.  XVII. 
Irish  copies.   In  the  Latin,  the  third  won- 
der (second  in  the  Irish)  is  nothing  mira- 
culous, "  Vadus  quando  innundatur  mare 

et  ijise  innundatur,"  &c. ;   the  Irish  trans-  painted  their   bodies,  and  are,   therefore, 

lator  perceived   this,  and  therefore  adds,  assumed  to  have  been  the  ancestors  of  the 


d  GueleiiH,  KOH  of  Ercal.  —  Gelonus,  son 
of  Hercules  by  Echidna,  was  the  ancestor 
of  the  Cieloni,  a  people  of  Scythia,  who 


poort  o'n  mvnp,  a  ford  which  is  far  from 
the.  sen.  L.  makes  the  first  and  second  one, 
thus,  Cpcnjj  cen  mup,  .1.  och  pocu  o'n 
rnuip,  ive.  The  section  "  De  mirabilibus 
Hibernia;"  is  omitted  in  the  Irish  copies. 
(T.) — See  Appendix. 

c  Of  the  Cruithnians,  \.  e.  of  the  Picts. 
This  section,  which  occurs  only  in  tin- 
Books  of  Leacan  and  Ballymote,  is  entitled 
in  the  former  Do  Chpuichnechcub  ctno- 


Picts  : 

'LI'J>a>quc  iluiims  Aralmin.  pictosqne  Gelonos." 
t'irtf.  fieorff.  ii.  11;"). 

Some  have  supposed  them  to  be  a  peo- 
ple of  Thrace,  or  at  least  to  have  settled 
then'  in  one  of  their  migrations,  because 
Virgil,  in  another  place  (Genrg.  iii.  461), 
says  of  them  : 

—  Acerqui'  (it-lonus 
Cum  fui;it  in  Khodopen,  at<|W'in  deserta  Getariun." 


pec,  Dopeip  nnn-eolnch,  "Of  theCruith-          This,  perhaps,  may  possibly  have  been 


121 


The  second  is  a  ford  which  is  far  from  the  sea,  and  which  fills 
when  the  tide  flows,  and  decreases  when  the  tide  ebbs. 

The  third  is  a  stone  which  moves  at  night  in  Glenn  Cindenn,  and 
though  it  should  be  cast  into  the  sea,  or  into  a  cataract,  it  would 
be  found  on  the  margin  of  the  same  valley. 

OF  THE  CRUITHNIANS'  INCIPIT. 

XXVII.  The  Cruithriians  came  from  the  land  of  Thracia  ;  they 
are  the  race  of  Gueleon,  son  of  Ercald  (Hercules).  Agathyrsi6  was  their 
name.  Six  brothersf  of  them  came  at  first,  viz.,  Solen,  Ulfa,  Nechtan, 
Drostan,  Aengus,  Leithenn.  The  cause  of  their  coming5  was  this, 
viz.,  Policornus,  king  of  Thrace,  fell  in  love  with  their  sister,  and  pro- 
posed 


the  origin  of  the  tradition  that  the  Picts 
were  a  Scythian  people  ("  de  Scythia,  ut 
perhibent,"  says  Bede,  lib.  i.  e.  i.)  who 
came  into  Ireland  from  Thrace.  For  ^ue- 
leoin,  (which  has  been  adopted  from  L.), 
B.  reads  ^leoin.— (T). 

e  Agathyrsi.  B.  reads  Ctjanchippt.  The 
Agathyrsi  were  a  Scythian  tribe,  said  to 
be  descended  from  Agathyrsus,  a  son  of 
Hercules.  See  above,  p.  49,  and  note  *. 
They  are  also  called  picti  by  Virgil,  ./En. 
iv.  146.  See  the  legend  of  the  birth  of 
Agathyrsus  and  Gelonus,  and  the  cause  of 
their  being  sent  away  from  Scythia  to  emi- 
grate, in  Herodotus,  lib.  iv.  c.  9,  10.  The 
account  given  by  Herodotus  of  the  Aga- 
thyrsi is  that  their  country  abounded  in 
gold,  but  that  they  were  themselves  effe- 
minate, and  had  their  women  in  common. 
— Ibid.  c.  104.  The  story  of  the  Agathyrsi 
coming  first  to  Ireland,  and  being  sent  on 
IKISH  AUCH.  SOC.  l6.  It 


from  thence  to  North  Britain,  is  told  by 
Polydore  Virgil  and  others.  He  says, 
"Quidam  hos  Agathyrsos  esse  suspican- 
tur,  Pictosque  vocitatos,  quod  sic  ora  ar- 
tusque  pingerent,  ut  ablui  nequirent;  sed 
Pictos  undecunque  dictos,  satis  constat 
populos  Scythias  fuisse." —  (lib.  ii.  p.  38, 
Edit.  Basil.  1555).  See  also  Hector  Boe- 
thius  (Hist.  Scotorum,  lib.  i.  fol.  4,  line  50. 
Edit.  Paris,  1575),  and  Fordun's  Scoti- 
chronicon. — (Z1.) 

'  Brothers, — L.  omits  the  word  bpacup. 
-(?'.). 

e  Cause  of  their  coming — Mr.  Pinker- 
ton,  who  has  quoted  this  account  of  the 
Picts  from  the  Book  of  Ballymote,  in  the 
Appendix,  No.  14,  to  his  Enquiry  into  the 
History  of  Scotland,  makes  the  words 
paca  a  ciaccana  a  proper  name,  and 
translates  this  passage  "  Fiacta-atiactana, 
alias  Policronus,  K'ing  of  Thrace,"  Ac. 


122 


cap  Romanchu  co  Ppangcu,  -]  cumcai^ic  piac  caraip  ann  .1.  PIC- 
ramp,  a  piccip  .1.  o  n-apmcaib.  Ocup  Do  pac  pi  Ppanjc  jpao  Dia 
piaip.  CoDap  pop  muip  mp  n-oeg  in  c-peipeaD  bparap  .1.  Ceicino. 
1  CITID  Da  laa  mp  n-oul  pop  muip  acbach  a  piup.  J5akrac  Cpuir- 
nij  inbep  Slaine  i  n-Uib  Ceinopelaijj.  Qcbepc  piu  Cpernrano 
I'ciar-bel,  pi  Caijen,  DO  bepaD  pailci  Doib'  ap  Dicup  Cuaife  pmba. 

Clobepr 


This  is  only  a  specimen  of  the  innumera- 
ble ludicrous  mistakes  which  Pinkerton 
has  committed  in  his  translations  from  the 
Irish.  In  the  next  sentence  £an  cocpa, 
signifies  not  "  without  settling  a  dowry 
on  her,"  as  Pinkerton  renders  it,  in  con- 
formity with  modern  ideas,  hut,  "  without 
giving  a  dowry  for  her,"  to  her  father  or 
next  of  kin,  according  to  the  practice  of 
the  ancients.  Policornus,  the  fabulous 
King  of  Thrace,  mentioned  in  this  legend, 
is  elsewhere  in  the  Book  of  Ballyniote 
(fol.  23,  a.  a.)  called  Poliornus,  and  in  the 
Book  of  Lecan  (fol.  13,  b.  6.),  Piliornis. — 
See  Addit.  Notes,  No.  XVIII — (T.) 

h  Without  ...  a  doicer — L.  reads  cen 
fochpaioe,  without  forces. —  (T.) 

'  Pictavis. — The  Lemonum  of  A.  Hir- 
tius  de  B.  Gall.  c.  26,  and  Augustoritum 
of  Ptolemy,  afterwards  Pictavia  or  Picta- 
via;,  Pictava  or  Pictavse,  now  Poictiers. 
Amrnianus  has  it  Pictavi,  from  the  people, 
xv.  c.  1 1 ;  others  Pictavium.  Whether  the 
Pictones  or  Pictavi  were  so  called  by  the 
Romans  from  any  usage  of  painting,  or 
whether  it  was  a  native  name,  is  uncertain. 
Brutus  in  his  voyage  from  Troy  hither 
visited  Poictou,  where  Goffarius  Pictus  or 


Goifar  Ficti,  was  then  reigning. — Galfrid, 
Mon.  i.e.  12.  The  derivation  of  this  name 
"  from  their  arms,"  alludes  to  the  word 
pike  in  English;  pioc,  Irish;  pig,  Welsh; 
pinca,  Italian  ;  pica  (and  see  also  picture), 
apud  I)u  Gauge. — (H.)  In  the  account 
already  given,  p.  53,  supra,  the  Picts  are 
described  as  having  been  first  in  Orkney, 
before  they  went  to  France  and  founded 
Poictiers.  The  tradition  that  this  city 
owed  its  origin  to  the  wandering  Aga- 
thyrsi  was  also  current  in  France.  Du 
Chesne  says:  "II  est  certain  que Poictiers, 
ville  principale  et  premiere  de  Unite  cette 
contree,  est  tres  antique,  mais  incertain 
qui  en  <>nt  este  les  premiers  fondateurs. 
L'opinion  de  plusieurs  Francois  est  que  ce 
peuple  est  une  ancienne  Colonie  des  Scy- 
thes dits  Agathirses,  lesquels,  au  dire  de 
1'lirie,  Pomponius  et  Solin,  se  peignoient 
les  cheveux  et  le  visage,  afin  de  se  rendre 
plus  redoutables,  et  pour  ce  estoient  ap- 
pellez  Picti.  Que  ces  Agathirses  peints 
vindrent  premierement  planter  lours  pa- 
vilions en  la  Grande  Bretagne;  ou  estans 
multipliez  se  fit  encore  cette  peuplade, 
laquelle  vint  bastir  la  ville  de  Poictiers, 
et  1'appella  Pictavis  en  Latin,  comme  ce 


123 


posed  to  take  her  without  giving  a  dower".  They  after  this  passed 
across  the  Roman  territory  into  France  and  built  a  city  there,  viz., 
Pictavis',  called  a  pictis,  i.  e.  from  their  arms.  And  the  king  of 
France  fell  in  love  with  their  sister.  They  put  to  sea  after  the  death 
of  the  sixth  brother",  viz.,  Leithinn;  and  in  two  days  after  going  on 
the  sea  their  sister  died.  The  Cruithnians  landed  at  Inbher  Slaine, 
in  Hy-Ceinnselagh.  Cremhthann  Sgiathbhel,  King  of  Leinster,  said 
that  he  would  give  them  welcome  on  the  expulsion  of  the  Tuatha 
Fidhbha1.  Drostan,  the  Druid  of  the  Cruithnians,  ordered  that 

the 


qui  diroit  force  petntt.  Ridicule  opinion 
puis  que  ce  peuple  est  avoiie  barbare  par 
tous  les  anciens  Autheurs,  et  partant  ig- 
norant de  la  lanque  Latine,  laquelle  mesme 
n'estoit  point  alors,  ou  n'estoit  en  telle 
splendeur,  que  les  estrangers  en  recher- 
chassent  la  connaissance."— 4?J#ywte,  #c., 
des  Villesde  France,  torn.  i.  p.  535-  John  of 
Salisbury,  in  his  Polycraticon,  sive  de  Nu- 
gis  Curialium,  suggests  also  a  Latin  de- 
rivation (lib.  i.  c.  13) :  "  Avis  picta  urbi 
Pictavorum  contulit  nomen,  levitatem 
gentis  colore  et  voce  prsefigurans."  But 
all  these  are  manifest  fables,  derived  from 
fanciful  analogies  of  sound  ;  for  the  inha- 
bitants of  Poictou  were  known  by  the 
name  of  Pictones  in  Caesar's  time,  before 
they  had  any  intercourse  with  the  Latins. 
This  objection,  however,  does  not  apply 
to  the  derivation  from  pica,  for  that  word 
existed  also  in  the  Celtic  languages,  al- 
though it  may,  perhaps,  be  as  fanciful  as 
the  rest.— (T.) 

k  Sixth  Brother — L.  reads  in  c-pinnpp 
bparhap,  "  the  eldest  brother."     If  this 


R 


reading  be  of  any  authority,  it  will,  there- 
fore follow,  that  Leithinn,  though  men- 
tioned last,  was  the  eldest  brother — (T.) 
1  Tuatha  Fidhbha. — Chuaichi  pijoa.  L. 
No  mention  of  this  colony  has  been  found 
except  in  this  legend.  Yet  it  is  curious 
that  the  inhabitants  of  the  barony  of  Forth 
were  an  English  or  Welsh  colony,  although 
they  are  certainly  not  in  Ireland  long 
enough  to  have  given  rise  to  this  story, 
which  is,  however,  of  great  antiquity; 
much  less  can  they  be  supposed  to  have 
been  here  since  A.  M.  2931,  the  period 
assigned  by  O'Flaherty  to  this  Cruithnian 
invasion.  See  the  Additional  Notes,  No. 
XVIII.  Pinkerton  and  his  Irish  assistants, 
not  knowing  that  Tuatha  Fidhbha  was  a 
proper  name,  translate  this  passage  thus  : 
"Cream than  Sciathbel,  King  of  Leinster, 
told  them  they  should  be  welcome,  provided 
they  would  free  him  of  the  tribe-ieidotcs." 
— vol.  i.  p.  507.  B,ut  his  version  of  this 
tract  is  full  of  similar  errors,  which  it 
would  be  waste  of  time  to  point  out  indi- 
vidually  (T.) 


124 

Qobepc  Opopcan,  bpm  Cpuirneac  .1.  bleajon  un.  ixc.  bo  pino  DO 
Dopcuj  mbaille  i  ppeappaibi  in  each.  Oo  ponnaDinof  pin, -j  DO  pon- 
na6  in  car  Doib  .1.  each  Gpoa-leamnacca  in  Uib  CeiriDpelai£.  ^ac 
aen  no  joncfp  no  lafjeo  ip  in  leamnacc  m  cumjab  a  neim  ni  t>o 
neoc  oib.  T?o  mapbca  ona  mpcam  Cuara  piDba.  TTlapb  ceacpap 
DO  Chpuirneacaib  lap  pin  .1.  Dpopcan,  Solen,  Neaccain,  Ulpa. 
^abaip  ^ub  1  a  mac  .1.  Cachluan  neapc  mop  a  n-Gpinn,  jop  m- 
DapbpaDap  Gpimoin  ~\  50  capoa  mna  na  peap  po  baicea  immaille 
ppi  Oono  Doib  .1.  mna  bpeppe  -|  buaippe  -|jia. 

XXVIII.  Qnaip  peipep  Dib  op  bpeajmai^.  18  naiDib  gach 
5^i pp,  i  gach  pen,  •)  jach  ppeob,  -]  jora  en,  •)  gac  mana.  Car- 
luan  ba  h-aipO-pi  oppo  uili,  ~\  ip  e  cec  pi  po  jab  tub  a  n-Qlbain;  Ijcpc. 
pij  Dib  pop  Qlbain  o  Charluan  ju  Conpcancin,  -|  ip  e  Cpuirneac 
Deibeanac  pop  jab.  Da  mac  Cachluain  .1.  Cachmolobop  ~\  Cacino- 
lacan ;  in  Da  cupaiD,  1m  mac  pipn,  ~\  Cino  achaip  Cpuichne ;  Cpnp 
mac  Cipij  a  milio  ;  Uaipneirh  a  piliD;  Cpuirne  a  ceapo  ;  Oomnall 

mac 


m  Ard-leumnachta — The  hill  or  height 
of  new  milk.  This  name,  which  perhaps 
gave  origin  to  the  fable,  is  now  lost.  The 
description  here  given  of  the  battle,  and 
of  the  advice  of  the  Druid  Drostan,  is  very 
obscure,  but  it  is  explained  by  the  more 
full  account  of  the  transaction  which  will 
be  found  in  Note  XVIII.  at  the  end  of  the 
volume,  from  which  some  explanatory 
words  have  been  inserted  in  the  transla- 
tion, to  render  it  intelligible.  For  Oo  pon- 
nao  in  car,  L. reads  Oo  paoao  in  cur.—  (T.) 

n  Sokn. — L.  reads  Rolen  in  this  place, 
but  in  enumerating  the  chiefs  of  the 
Cruithnians  above,  Solen,  as  in  B (T.) 

0  Gub.  —  L.  reads  "fc\b,  Keatinge  reads 
Gud.  See  Addit.  Note  XVIIL— (T.) 


v  Donn. — See  above,  pp.  55-57, and  note 
m,  p.  56,  where  the  names  of  the  chieftains 
drowned  with  Donn  are  given  in  a  stanza 
cited  from  a  poem  by  Eochy  O'Flynn,  a 
celebrated  historian  and  bard  of  the  tenth 
century. — (T.) 

''  BreuyJimlKHjh. — Bregia,  the  great  plain 
of  Moath,  in  which  Tarais  situated. — (T.) 

r  Sreodh. — For  the  meaning  of  this  word 
see  note  on  the  following  poem,  line  149, 
p.  144.  Pinkerton's  version  of  this  passage 
is  ludicrously  absurd:  "  They  were  in 
want  of  order  and  distinction:  had  neither 
spears  (for  hunting),  nets  (for  fowling), 
nor  women." — (T.) 

s  Last  Cruithnian  that  reigned. — Not  true 
in  fact;  but  the  Nomina  liegum  Pictorum 


I25 


the  milk  of  seven  score  white  cows  should  be  spilled  [in  a  pit] 
where  the  next  battle  should  be  fought.  This  was  done,  and  the 
battle  was  fought  by  them,  viz.,  the  battle  of  Ard-leamhnachtam,  in 
Hy-Ceinnselagh.  Every  one  of  the  Plots  whom  they  wounded  used 
to  lie  down  in  the  new  milk,  and  the  poison  of  the  weapons  of  the 
Tuatha  Fidhbha  did  not  injure  any  of  them.  The  Tuatha  Fidhbha 
were  then  slain.  Four  of  the,  Cruithnians  afterwards  died  ;  namely, 
Drostan,  Solen",  Nechtain,  and  Ulfa.  But  Gul)"1,  and  his  son  Cath- 
luan,  acquired  great  power  in  Eri,  until  Herimon  drove  them  out, 
and  gave  them  the  wives  of  the  men  who  had  been  drowned  along 
with  Donnp,  namely,  the  wife  of  Bres,  the  wife  of  Buas,  &c. 

XXVIII.  Six  of  them  remained  as  lords  over  Breagh-mhagh". 
From  them  are  derived  every  spell,  every  charm,  every  sreodhr,  and 
augury  by  voices  of  birds,  and  every  omen.  Cathluan  was  monarch 
over  them  all,  and  he  was  the  first  king  of  them  that  ruled  in  Alba. 
Seventy  kings  of  them  ruled  over  Alba,  from  Catbluan  to  Constantirie, 
who  was  the  last  Cruithnian  that  reigned8 .  The  two  sons  of  Cathluan 
were  Catinolodar  and  Catinolachan'  ;  their  two  champions  were  Ini, 
son  of  Pern,  and  Cind,  the  father  of  Cruithne" ;  Cras,  son  of  Cirech, 
was  their  hero;  Uaisneimh  was  their  poet;  Cruithne  their  artificer; 
Domhnall,  son  of  Ailpinv,  was  the  first  Gadelian  king,  till  he  was 

killed, 
(ap.  Innes,  App.ygS),  were  carried  down  no     at  cupam,  and  translates  in  on  cupum. 

further.  FivePictish  princes  reigned  after     "  in  great  distress." (T.) 

Constantine  during  22  years — (H.)     See         u  Cruithne. — Cuierme,  B. — (T.) 

what  Innes  has  said  on  this  Irish  account          v  Ailpin tDomnall  mac  Qilpil  ip  e 

of  the  seventy  kings,  vol.  i.  p.  102 — (T.)  caipech  po  job  50  po  mapb  6pircur 
1  Catinolachan.  —  L.  reads  Da  mac  mnai  Iracon,  L.  There  is  some  sad  con- 
Curhluan  po  jjabrae  Cpuirhencuach  .1.  fusion  and  omission  of  words  in  the  text. 
Cacmolooapop  -\  Caanalachan.  "  The  I  have  supplied  conjecturally  in  italics  in 
two  sons  of  Cathluan  took  possession  of  the  translation  what  I  suppose  to  have 
Cruithen-tuath,  viz.,  Catinolodaror  and  been  the  meaning.  For  Britu?,  son  of  I?a- 
Catinalachan."  Pinkerton  puts  a  full  stop  con,  see  above,  p.  27. — (T) 


126 


mac  Ctilpin  ip  e  coipec,  50  po  mapb.  6picup  imoppo  mac  Ipicon. 
Clann  Neimib  po  jabpac  lap  m-6picup  .1.  lap  ^lun.  Cpuichni^  po 
gabpac  lap  pin,  lap  cecc  ooib  a  h-Gpinn.  5aeD1^  imoppo  po  $ab- 
pac  lap  pin  .1.  meic  Gipc  mic  GacDach. 

[XXIX.  Do  chuaiD  o  macaib  TTlileaO  Cpuichnechan  mac 
Locic,  mic  Ingi  la  bpeacnu  poipcpen  Do  chachuguo  ppi  Sa^ain,  i 
po  chopain  cip  ooib  Cpuichencuaic,  •)  ara>p  pen  aco.  Qchc  ni 
baoap  mna  leo,  ap  bebaip  banocpochc  Qban.  Do  luio  lapum 
Cpuichnechan  pop  culu  DO  cum  mac  TTlileD,  -\  po  gab  neam,  -| 
calam,  ~\  jpian,  ~\  epca,  Dpuchr,  -|  oaichi,  muip,  -j  cip,  [cop]  ba  DO 
maichpiu  plaich  poppo  co  bpach  ;  ~\  DO  bepc  Da  mna  nee  pop- 
cpaiDi  baoap  oc  macaib  TTlileao,  apo  bare  a  pip  ip  in  paippge  ciap 
ap  aen  pe  Donn  ;  conao  DO  peapaib  h-Gpino  plaic  pop  Cpuichnib 
o  pin  oogpep.] 

XXX.  CRUlUhN15h  [CID]  Doppapclam, 
i  n-iaf  Qlban  n-ampa, 


«  Glim.— 5alu,  L.— (T.) 

x  Sons  of  Ere,  i.  e.  Fergus,  Loam,  and 
Aengus;  see  Innes,  App.  p.  801.  Fordun. 
iv.  c.  9._(7Y) 

'  Cruithnechan,  —  This  section  occurs 
only  in  L — (T.) 

'Britons  ofFoirtren. — That  is  to  say,  the 
Gwyddyl  Fichti  of  North  Britain,  whose 
kingdom  was  called  by  the  Irish  Fortren 
Mor.  Fodla  Fortren  was  one  of  the  seven 
fabulous  brothers,  sons  of  Cruthne,  who 
divided  Albany  amongst  them.  But  Foir- 
tren,  perhaps,  amounts  to  powerful  or 
mighty.  Dr.  O'Conor  fancifully  makes  it 
a  contraction  of  Fortraigh  Greine,  sunrise, 
i.e.  the  east — Script.  R.  H.  iii.  p.  55.  It  is 
the  name  of  the  whole  realm;  and  has  not 


been  ascertained  to  have  been  special  to 
any  part  of  it.  It  was,  I  scarcely  doubt,  the 
Gwyddyl  Fichti  name  as  well  as  the  Irish 
name  ;  for  the  prefix  For,  which  is  the 
gor  of  the  Welsh,  is  prevalent  in  the  com- 
position of  Pictish  names  of  places.- — (//.) 
a  By  heaven  and  earth,  ij-c. — This  is  the 
ancient  Irish  oath,  by  which  the  various 
elements  and  parts  of  nature  were  made 
guarantees  of  the  bargain,  and  enemies  to 
the  forswearer.  The  oaths  exacted  from 
his  subjects  by  Tuathal  Teachtmar,  and 
that  given  to  the  Lagenians  by  King 
Loeghaire  mac  Neill,  are  memorable  in- 
stances of  it.  At  an  earlier  epoch  King 
Hugony  the  Great  is  reported  to  have  se- 
cured the  crown  to  his  family  by  the  same 


I27 

killed.  First,  Britus,  son  of  Isacon,  possessed  Britain.  The  clan 
Neimhidh  obtained  it  after  Britus,  that  is  after  Glunw.  The  Cruithnians 
possessed  it  after  them,  after  they  had  come  out  of  Eri.  The  Gaedhil 
possessed  it  after  that,  that  is,  the  sons  of  Ercx,  son  of  Eochaidh. 

XXIX.  Cruithnechany  son  of  Lochit,  son  of  Ingi,  went  over 
from  the  sons  of  Mileadh  to  the  Britons  of  Foirtrenz,  to  fight  against 
the  Saxons,  and  he  defended  the  country  of  Cruithen-tuath  for  them, 
and  he  himself  remained  with  them  [i.  e.  with  the  Britons].  But  they 
had  no  women,  for  the  women  of  Alba  had  died.  And  Cruithne- 
chan  went  back  to  the  sons  of  Mileadh,  and  he  swore  by  heaven  and 
earth",  and  the  sun  and  the  moon,  by  the  dew  and  elements,  by  the 
sea  and  the  land,  that  the  regal  succession  among  them  for  ever 
should  be  on  the  mother's  side  ;  and  he  took  away  with  him  twelve 
women  that  were  superabundant  with  the  sons  of  Mileadh,  for  their 
husbands  had  been  drowned  in  the  western  sea  along  with  Doim  ; 
so  that  the  chiefs  of  the  Cruithnians  have  been  of  the  men  of  Eri 
from  that  time  ever  since. 

XXX.  THE  CnuiTHNiANSb  who  propagated 

In  the  land  of  noble  Albac, 

With 

mode  of  oatli ;  but  it  is  not  said  whether  Patricii;  apud  Petrie  on  Tara,  pp.  57-68, 

he  first  introduced  it Ogygia,  iii.  c.  38.  where  that  incantation  is  rather  indul- 

See  Battle  of  Magh  Rath,  p.  2,  3,  and  the  gently  translated,  by    inserting    within 

note,  ibid.  See  also  the  verses  of  the  bard  brackets   such  words  as  tend  to  remove 

Malmura  in  O'Con.  Proleg.  ii.  p.  Ixxix.  the  invocation,  otherwise  apparent,  of  the 

Perhaps,  in  terming  it  the  oath  per  res  rescreatas  omnes. — (H.). 

creates  omnes,  Mr.  O'Flaherty  may  be  em-  b  The   Cruithnians. — This  very  ancient 

ploying  an  important  phrase  of  his  own  poem  occurs  only  in  L.  &  B.    The  text  in 

theology,  not  apparent  in  that  of  his  Pagan  both  is  very  corrupt,  and  often  unintel- 

ancestors.     The  spirit  of  the  adjuration  ligible.    B.  has  been  chiefly  followed.  In 

per  res  omnes  has  infused  itself  into  the  line  i,  cm  is  inserted  from  L.;  in  line  3, 

celebrated  production,  otherwise  Chris-  L.  reads  belju  for  belba. — (T.) 

tian,  called  the  Feth   Fiadha   or  Lorica  c  Alba. —  Alba,  genitive  Alban,  dative 


128 


50  n-ct  m-bjiij  bil  belba, 
cia  cip  ap  nac  capga  ? 

Cia  poconn  pop  |io  sluaip, 
o  cpicaib  in  cogaio? 
ppi  pmm  conD  cap  ppeachap, 
cm  lin  long  Do  looaji? 

Cia  plonouD  ppia  naccain 
DO  jiiaccain  na  pije? 
ap  a  n-aipm  pabein,— 
ip  cia  n-ainm  a  cipe? 

Upaicia  ainm  a  cipe 
50  pipe  a  peolca 


10 


Albain  (Alban,  undeclined,  in  Welsh), 
Albany,  is  a  well-known  appellation  for 
that  part  of  Britain  which  the  Picts  oc- 
cupied. See  Mr.  O'Donovan's  Grammar, 
p.  1 06.  Fable  refers  it  to  Albanact,  bro- 
ther of'Locrine  and  Camber;  and,  like  the 
names  of  Lloegyr  and  Cymmry,  it  is 
utterly  unknown  to  ancient  historians 
and  geographers.  Nay,  indeed,  the  triple 
division  of  the  island  into  the  Anglo- 
Roman,  Cambro-British,  and  Scoto-Pict- 
isli  portions,  was  a  post-Roman  circum- 
stance, to  which  this  late  nomenclature 
has  adapted  itelf.  The  name  Braid- Alban, 
Jugum  Albania,  Collar  of  Albany,  indi- 
cates the  elevation  of  that  district;  while 
the  highest  ridge  or  summit  of  the  Braid- 
Alban  was  styled  the  Drum- Alban,  Dor- 
sum  Albania;.  It  is  Adamnan's  Dorsum 
Britannia;  his  mention  of  it  is  alwavs  as 


mp 

the  boundary  of  Pictland  towards  the 
Scots  ;  and  crossing  the  Dorsum  Britan- 
nia; is  the  conventional  phrase  for  enter- 
ing the  former  kingdom  from  the  west.  See 
Adamn.  i.  34;  ii.  32,  43,47;  iii.  14.  Why 
one  of  the  three  parts  should  thus  be 
termed  Britannia,  i.  e.  the  whole,  may  be 
explained  from  that  part  alone  having  re- 
tained an  independence,  varying  in  it> 
limits,  as  the  upper  or  lower  wall  was 
maintained.  And  the  Irish  abbot  of  lona 
has  therein  the  support  of  the  ancient 
Welsh,  by  whom  Alban  was  also  termed 
Prydyn  (an  old  form)  though  never  Pry- 
dain.  SeeTaliesin,  p.  75, 1.  22.  Golyddan, 
p.  156,  1.  14,  p.  157,  11.  25,  65.  Taliesin 
(or  rather  some  one  assuming  his  person) 
uses  that  name  triadically,  that  is,  in  dis- 
tinction from  Lloegyr  and  Cymmry,  which 
makes  it  the  precise  equivalent  of  Alban  ; 


129 


With  glorious  illustrious  might, 
From  what  region  did  they  come  ? 

What  cause  also  moved  them 
From  the  countries  of  war? 
To  traverse  the  waves'1  over  the  floods, 
In  what  number  of  ships  did  they  embark  ? 

How  were  they  named  before  they  came 
To  attain  their  sovereignty? 
(They  were  named  from  their  owne  weapons) 
And  what  was  the  name  of  their  country? 

Thraciaf  was  the  name  of  their  country, 
(Until  they  spread  their  sails, 


10 


After 


saying,  of  the  Serpent  of  Germany,  "  she- 
shall  conquer  Llocgyr  and  Pri/dyn,  from 
the  shore  of  the  German  Ocean  to  the 
Severn,  and  then  shall  the  Brython  .  .  . 
lose  all  their  land,  except  wild  IValfia." — 
p.  94.  st.  29-31.  The  improbable  state- 
ment in  Giraldus  and  the  Brut  of  Kings, 
that  the  Humber  was  the  south  limit  of 
Alban,  arose  from  the  lower,  or  Picts", 
wall,  passing  through  Northumberland; 
as  appears  from  the  oldest  of  the  Welsh 
copies,  where  it  is  said  that  Alban  lay 
"  from  the  river  Humber  to  the  penrhyn 
of  Bladon  ;"  for  Cape  Blatum  was  the 
western  terminus  of  the  Severian  wall, 
therefore  its  eastern  terminus  inNorthum- 
bria  should  have  been  said  for  the  I  lumber. 
Brut.  Tysilio,  p.  117.  Roberts  (interpo- 
lating the  word  northwards),  p.  33  ;  Giraldi 
Descript.  Cambria?,  cap.  7,  p.  886. — (//.) 

IRISH  ARCH    SOC.    1 6.  S 


d  The  leaves. — Lines  7  and  8  are  given 
thus  in  B. : 

Cia  lin  lon^  up  cecijuji 
ppi  r-mm  cono  Do  looap  ? 

In  what  number  of  ships  did  they  embark. 
Ami  set  out  to  traverse  the  waves'? 

The  reading  of  L.  is  preferred,  as  most  in 
conformity  with  the  metre.— (2'.) 

e  Their  own. — For  puoein  L.  reads  bo- 
oene,  a  form  of  the  same  word,  now  writ- 
ten pem.  See  O'Donovnn's  Irish  Gram- 
mar, p.  130. — (T.) 

'  T/iracia.- — According  to  T/schucke,  the 
Agathyrsi  did  not  inhabit  Thrace,  but  the 
Bannat  of  Temeswar,  and  part  of  Transyl- 
vania. Tzsch.inPomp.  Melam,  torn.  6,  p.  12. 
The  ancients  do,  however,  impute  to  the 
Thracians  the  use  of  certain  blue  punc- 
tures, as  ornaments  of  nobility,  but  not 


130 

m]i  na  caipaul  ceacca,  15 

a  n-aipciup  na  h-Goppa, 

Ggancippi  a  n-anmann 
am  pano  Gpcail-irbi 
o  ceappcapoi  a  cucclf 
acheprap  cit>  PICCI.  20 

Pica  in  aicme  ar  paib 
pop  caicne  ceacc  muip, 
jan  jnim  n-oeipeoil  n-ooocain, 
pil  n-<5eleoin  mic  Gpcoil. 

h-uat>ib  peipeap  bparap,  25 

ppi  larap  jan  liun, 
»)o  pepc  blab  50  poab, 
in  peaccmab  a   piup. 

Solen,  Ulpa,  Neccain, 

Dpopcan  Decrain  Dperell.  ^o 

a  n-anmano  a  n-aeboup. 
Qen^up  a£iip  Leirenti. 

Lan 

auy  general  painting   of  the  body.     See  "AfdXox»»s  ianZov,  iv  iv  xl'°'1  <"(/"""'  ix01"™' 

Nota>  Threicue,  ap.  Ciceronem  de  Off.  ii.  Ki.dw«    aruytpor    ?>,    \t\aOotvro    <t>6vn,,.  - 

<;.  7.  Herod.  Tcrps.  cap.  6.     Their  women  (**•) 

also  wore  these  marks  (some  say  on  the          'Ercal-ItM,  i.  e.  perhaps  6pcal  in  Oiebi, 

hands  and  face),  and  they  are  represented  or    Hercules  the   Theban.      This  is    the 

by  Dion   Chrysostom  as  marks   of  their  reading  of  L.,  for  which  B.,  running  both 

rank  and  dignity.  Orat.  xvii.  cit.  Wesse-  words    into  one,  reads  Cpcrbi.      In  the 

ling  in    Herod,  u.  s.     But  poets   repre-  next    line    the    name    Picti    is    derived 

sent  them  as  a  badge  of  infamy  for  having  from  tattooing,  although  just  before  (line 

slain  Orpheus:  for  example  Phanocles  ap.  1 1),  it  was  derived  from  pikes (T.)  Aga- 

Stobseum,  Flor.  ii.  478.  (Ed.  Gaisford),  thyrsus    and   Gelonus    were   brothers   of 


'31 

After  they  had  resolved  to  emigrate),  1 5 

In  the  east  of  Europe. 

Agathyrsi  was  their  name, 
In  the  portion  of  Ercal-Itbig ; 
From  their  tattooing  their  fair  skins 
Were  they  called  Picts.  20 

The  Picts,  the  tribe  I  speak  of, 

Understood  travelling  over  the  sea, 
Without  mean,  unworthy  deeds", 
The  seed  of  Geleon  son  of  Ercal. 

Of  them'  six  brothers  25 

With  alacrity,  unflinching, 
For  glory's  sake  set  out; 
The  seventh  was  their  sister. 

Solen,  Ulpha,  Nechtain, 

Drostan  the  powerful  diviner,  30 

Were  their  names  and  their  order, 


Aengus  and  Leithenn. 


The 


Scytha,  and  sous  of  Hercules  or  Ercuil,  And  in  the  next  line  the  same  manuscript 

called  in  Welsh  Ercwlf.     Herod.    Melp.  has  Golchom   for  5e^eoln.  which  seems 

cap.  10.  Steph.  Byzant.  in  T(\tavov.     The  a   manifest    mistake    of  transcription — 

bard  seems  to  make  Gelonus  (Geleon)  the  (T.) 

ancestor,  and  Agathyrsi  the  name,  of  one  '  Of  them. — In  B.  h-Ua   oib,   which  1 

and  the  same  tribe (//.)  have  supposed  to  be  intended  for  h-uuoili, 

Unworthy  deeds.  —  L.   reads   line  23,  and    translated    accordingly.       L.    reads 

thus:  h-Uaichip,    which    may    perhaps    mean, 

Ceo  snirn  n-6pcail  n-occhaib.  "  of  their  country."     In  line  26,  for  lion 

The  hundred  deeds  of  mighty  Ercal.  L.  reads  liub. — (T.) 

S  2 


132 

Lan  pi  Upaigia  cpeabca 
DO  oecpa  a  piuip  pocla, 

po  bo  Damna  Deabca,  35 

5an  rapba  jan  cocpa. 


lea  in  oeij-pip, 
o  ripib,  o  rpeDaiti, 
luce  cpi  long  co  lopmub, 
nonbup  ap  cpi  ceoaib.  40 

Cingpec  peac  cumo  cpichi 
Ppangcu,  piacu  pailgif, 
[5;nio]  carpaij  aipm  a 
i>'iap  ba  ainm 


a  piccif  45 

acbepcfp  a  carpai^, 
ba  plonnuo  plan  pocpam 
lapum  Dap  pin  par-muip. 

T?i  po  cap  a  piuip, 

rpe  jliaib  50  n-^aipje,  50 

Di  poconn  a  pepje, 

[a  Dcorli]punD  pop  paipje. 

pop 

i  Absolute  sovereign.  —  Literally  full  king,  lopmuo.   H.  lias  also  nue  lon^,  nine  ships, 

i.e.  ard  rigft,  or   supremo  king  over  the  instead  of  cpi.  —  (T.) 

reguli  or  toparchs  of  Thrace  __  (77.)  m  Three  hundred  and  nine.  —  It  is  curious 

k  Sought  __  -L.  reads  DO  cheachpa,  ad-  that  this  number  makes  izalso,  ontheprin- 

mired  or  fell  in  love  with  __  (T.)  ciple  explained  p.  1  1  2,  supra,  note  J.  —  (T.) 

'Flocks.  —  The   reading  of  L.   is  here  "Sea.  —  B.  reads  an  cpicu,  "they  passed 

followed.     B.  has  cpeabaib,  "from  their  through  the  countries."  —  (T.) 

houses."     In  the  next  verse  B.  has  jol-  °  They  built.  —  5nlt)  added  from  L.,   as 


133 

The  absolute  sovereignj  of  populous  Thrace 
Soughtk  their  lovely  sister, 

(It  was  the  cause  of  conflict)  ir 

Without  gift,  without  dowry. 

They  came  away  with  her,  the  good  men, 
From  their  lauds,  from  their  flocks1, 
A  company  of  three  ships  in  good  order, 
Three  hundred  and  nine™  persons.  40 

They  stepped  on  land  from  the  surrounding  sea" 
Of  France, — they  cut  down  woods, 
They  built"  a  city  with  their  many  weapons, 
Which  was  named  Pictabis. 

Pictabisp  a  Pictis  ^r 

They  named  their  city; 
It  remained  a  good  and  free  name 
Afterwards  upon  the  fortress. 

The  king  sought  their  sister 

By  battle  fiercely11,  -0 

And  in  consequence  of  his  anger 
They  were  driven  upon  the  sea. 

On 

necessary  both  for  the  .sense  and  for  the  contrary  to  the  prose  preface,  which  had 

metre.    This  verse  is  obscure.  The  words  derived   it   from  pikes;  unless    the  word 

cctrpuij  aipm  aiblip  will  admit  of  being  picti*  here  be  taken  to  mean  pikes,  and  not 

translated  "  a  city  in  a  pleasant  [or  beau-  the  name  of  the  people.  — (77.) 

tiful]  situation."      The  events  alluded  to  <i  Fiercely. — B.  reads  50  naipge.   Inline 

are  given  above,  p.  123 — (T.)  52,  the  first  syllable  of  ocochpurm,  which 

P  Pictabis — Pictabis  or  Pictavia,  Poic-  is  necessary  for  the  metre,  is  supplied  from 

tiers,    is   here   derived  from   the  Picts,  L. — (T.) 


'34 

POJI  cpacc  mapa  meabbaib 
long  lelaij  luce  lacaip, 

anaip  ap  a  peipiup  55 

acin  peipeao  bparaip. 


baoap  in 

[50]  n-gpaine  oia  n-jlenail, 

a  n-amm  po  bo  aeba, 

aipm  ippaba  Glaip.  60 

Glam  app  a  cele, 
co  n-oene  po  oiuo, 
cino  Da  la  jac  laccu, 
acbar  accn  a  piup. 

Seac  bpearnaib  'na  peimun,  65 

co  h-Gpinri  ria  li-aine, 
po  co^par  a  cinoperh 
gobpar  inbep  Slaine. 

Slaigpeac  plua^  [pea]  poplar, 

t>m  pojnain  i  nemni,  70 

rpia  glunGu  japja 

i  each  Qpoa-leamnacc. 

Caic 

r  With  her  --  acin,  the  reading  of  L.,  ous  fathers  of  the  western  church.  Ve- 

is  a  combination  of  aci,  with  her,  and  in,  nantius  Fortunatus,  one  of  his  successors 

the  article.  B.  reads  uccu  in  —  (T).  in  that  see,  writes  thus  in  his  eulogy 

"Renowned.  —  paoa,  L.,  i.  e.  long,  or  far-  of  the  pious  Queen  Radegund,  lib.  vii. 

famed.  —  (T.)  r  Il: 

'  Elair  —  "  The  place  where  Elair  was  ;" 

"  Fortunatus  ego  bine  humili  prece,  voce,  saluto, 
that  is  to  say,  the  see  01  ot.  Hilary,  bishop 

J  J  (  Italia  gcnitum  Galhca  rura  tenent) 

of  Poictiers  from   A.  D.    350  or  355  to          Pictavis  resigns,  qua  Sanctus  Hilarius  olim 
368  or  369,  and  one  of  the  most  illustri-  Natus  in  urbc  fuit  notiis  in  orbe  pater.  " 


On  the  shore  of  the  sea  was  shattered, 
A  ship,  swift  sailing,  well  manned, 
There  remained,  as  we  know,  ^5 

With  herr  the  sixth  brother. 

They  were  in  Pictavia, 

With  success  attaching  to  them; 

Their  name  was  renowned5 

At  the  place  where  Elairr  was.  60 

They  stole  away  thence  together 
In  haste,  under  sorrow, 
At  the  end"  of  two  tempestuous  days, 
Their  sister  died  with  them. 

Passing  by  Britain  in  their  voyage,  6  $ 

To  Eri  the  delightful 
They  directed  their  course, 
And  reached  Inbher  Slainev. 

They  cut  down  the  plundering  host  of  Fea", 

Who  were  aided  by  poison11,  70 

By  their  fierce  deeds, 

In  the  battle  of  Ard-leamhnacht. 

The 

u  At  the  end.  —  L.  reads  cinca  la  co  tioncd  in  the  prose  narrative,  p.  123. — (T.) 

lochca.  "  From  the  fault  of  a  stormy  x  Poison. — The  reading  of  L.  has  been 

day.". — ( X.)  followed.  B.  reads  t>ia  pojnao  a  noein- 

'  Inbher  Slaine.  —  The  mouth  of  the  nacc,  and  in  the  next  line  a  n-glungnu. 

River  Slaney  at  Wexford.  See  above,  See  the  story,  p.  1 25,  above,  and  in  Addi- 

p.  123 (T.)  tional  Notes,  No.  XVIII.  In  line  71,  B. 

w  Fea,  added  from  L.  Fea  signifies  "  of  reads  opian  for  cpia,  which  is  given  in 

woods."  This  was  the  host  of  the  Tuath  the  text  from  L.,  as  being  probably  the 

Fiadhbhe,  or  "  people  of  the  woods,"  men-  more  correct  reading. — (T.) 


i36 

Laic  anjbaibe,  aimble, 
pea  paiobe  puoap, 

gona  oanaib  50  n-oecpaib,  75 

Do  bhpearnaib  a  bunao. 


ba  mapb  nee  no 

ace  ceiljreip  a  puile, 
50  bom  cpu  ooenne, 
cib  cu  no  cib  Dune. 

Opui  Cpincnec  in  capoaip, 
puaip  ic  amnp  amlaiD, 
lemlacc  ip  innalao 
pjii  ramab  pop  calmain. 

Uucra  camce  rpeab-clann,  gj 

la  Cperhrano  coip  cenn-balc, 
co  corhlacc  an  aicmib, 
pop  paicri  Qpt)lemnacr. 

SlaijpeaD  pluaij  pea  paebpacli 

gan  cpebao  ip  gan  ropao,  90 

po 

*  Their  oriyin  —  Sec  above,  p.  123.    Tliis      ing  of  ]>..  and  is  adopted  in  the  text  in- 
stanza  is  thus  given  in  L.:  stead  of  no  peccif  in  B.  —  (T.) 

a  ]lra»tcd  uvuij.  —  This  line  is  thus  <nven 
Caicn  anrbuioi  paiobe 

in  L.  : 
co  ngaipbe  pe  puoap 

co  numib  co  noecpa.b  Con  bo  C11U  De  I'*"  e' 

DO  6peacnuib  a  mburiao.  but  the  meaning  is  the  same.—  (T.) 

"  Heroes  hard  cutting  "  Offrieii(Mii/>.—  \.  e.  a  ii'iendly  druiil,  » 

With  roughness,  with  liurtf  ulness,  benefactor.    In  L.  incapoaip.  —  (T.) 

With  wonderful  weapons;  °  Were  washed.  —  unalao,  L.    The  word 

Of  the  Britons  was  their  origin."—  (7\)  inaluim,  andlaim,  or  lonnlmm  is  still  in 
2  They  struck  __  No  cheijoipis  the  read-      use   in  Scotland,   and  in   many  parts   of 


'37 

The  heroes  valiant  and  numerous 
Cut  down  knotty  woods, 

With  wonderful  arts;  75 

igi 


From  the  Britons  was  their  origin*. 


Dead  was  every  one  they  struck2, 
If  but  his  blood  they  shed, 
So  that  he  wasted  away*1  on  that  account, 
Whether  he  were  a  dog,  or  wrhether  he  were  a  man.       80 

A  Cruithnian  Druid,  of  friendship6, 

Discovered  a  cure  for  those  thus  wounded, 
New  milk  in  which  were  washed0 
Those  who  lay  wounded  on  the  earth. 

The  herds  of  cows  of  the  tribes  were  brought,  85 

By  just  Cremhthann  the  headstrongd, 
Until  the  herd  was  milked 
On  the  OTeene  of  Ardleamhnacht. 


er 


They  cut  down  the  troops  of  Fea,  of  sharp  weaponsf, 
Leaving  tJietn  without  tillage  and  without  produce,       90 

By 

Ireland.    If,  however,  we  read  in  n-uluio,  plied    in    the    English    word    hendxtrniKj : 

which  may  possibly  he  also  the  reading  cenn,  a  head,  is  often  used  as  a   sort  of 

of  B.,  the   line  may  be  translated  "  new  intensitive  in  composition.     It  may  mean, 

milk,   in  the  wound."     The   next   line  is  however,  a  stout  head,  i.e.  chief  or  leader, 

from   L.,  but  B.  reads  un-urumuo   pop-  For  cenn-bulc,  L.  reads  cecbulc,  and  in 

curoail,  which   (if  the    words   he   so  di-  the  next  verse,  co  corhlacc  a  pach  nem, 

vided)   will    signify,     4i  in    powerful    [or  which  is   corrupt — (T.) 

efficacious]  bathing." — (T.)  e  Green — See  above,  p.  93,  note  u.   The 

d  Headstrong The  word  cenn-bnlc  is  word  paicci  is  omitted  in  L — (T.) 

literally  thus  rendered,  but  does  not  in-  f  Sharp  U'eapoiis. — Puebpuch    is    the 

volve  the  idea  of  perverse  obstinacy  im-  reading  of  L.     In   B.   this  liny   is   given 
IRISH  AECH.  SOC.    l6.                                   T 


i38 

po  cobpab  Oia  n-oich 
Cpemcano  pciacbel  pcopac. 


coin  in 

pop  ruipcib  cpi  maije, 

comoap  ecla  paebaip  95 

na  5aelt)1^  5°  n- 


mp  pin  50  n-apao 
cecpup  blacac  bparap, 
Solen,  Neachran,  Opopcan, 
Qengup,  popodn  pacac.  100 

17o  pair  a  n-oeap  Ulpa, 
lap  n-upcpa  a  capao, 
in  l?achpant>  i  m-bpeajaiB, 
anD  po  mebaiD  malaipc. 

TTlopcap  occa  Carluain,  105 

nip  bo  cpuaj  in  r-aipe, 

oo 

thus,  Slijpeac  pluu  j  pea  pebac,  wlv.re  ford.    Perhaps  cpi  mui^e  sliould  l>e  taken 

plijpeac  is  an  evident  mistake  for  floij;-  as  a  proper  name,  but  it  is  not  now  known 

peur,   and    pea    pebac   is    probably  the  as  such.    It  occurs  in  both  copies.     In  L. 

name  of  the  hostile   tribe  Fea   Fidhbhe.  lines  93  and  94  are  transposed,  and  the 

See  above,  line  72.      In  line  90  the  read-  stanza  is  read  thus: 

ing  of  L.  has    been  followed.     B.   reads  Cuipm  (.no  cpi  mcng. 

5un  cpeib  ir  5an  cobac.—  (T.)  na  Cpu,ci,nich  co  n.5ulp, 

8  Their  defeat,  i.  e.    the   defeat    of   the  cumrap  eajla  paebaip 

Tuath    Fidhbhe:    oia    n-oich    has    been  nu  ^aei^.l  co  n-5lame. 


adopted  from  L.   for  cuar  rbaio,  which 

"  On  the  three  plains  planted 

is  the  reading  of  B  —  (T.)  ^  Cruitnneans  ^h  pro9pl,rity, 

h  The  three  plains  --  These   words  seem  Until  dread  of  their  arms 

to  denote  some  place  in  the  County  Wex-  Had  seized  the  noble  Gaels."  —  (T.) 


'39 

By  their  defeat  in  the  battle8, 

Cremhthan  Sciathbel  of  horses  was  protected. 

The  Cruithnians  settled  themselves 
On  the  lands  of  the  three  plains", 

Until  dread  of  their  arms  95 

Had  seized  the  noble  Gaels 

Soon  after  that  died' 

Four  of  the  noble  brothers, 

Solen,  Neachtan,  Drostan, 

Aengus,  the  prophetic  pillar.  100 

From  the  south  was  Ulfa  sent 
After  the  decease  of  his  friends ; 
In  Rachrann  in  Bregiaj 
He  was  utterly  destroyed. 

Cathluan  was  elevatedk  by  them,  105 

(No  despicable  chieftain), 

As 

In  line  95,  B.  reads  oibil  instead  of  pae-          i  Rachrann  in  Bregia. — Kachrann   was 

buip,  which  latter  reading  has  been  adopt-  the  ancient  name  of  the  rocky  island  of 

ed  in  the  text.     The  word  cuipcib  in  line  Lambay,  near   the  Hill  of  Howth,  which 

94,   which  is   omitted  in  L.,  appears  to  is  in  the  territory  of  Bregia.     Lines  1 03 

signify  sods,  soil,  lands — (T.)  and  104  are  from  L.     B.  reads, 
'  Died — co-njabao,  L.     In  line  98  L.  ,n  a  6apnn  im-6pea5aib 

reads  bpaehap  blaoach,  and  in  line  99,  ano  po  meaoaip  malapc. 

B.    reads   Ulpha   instead   of  Neuchcun,  „  In  his  cam  ln  Brcgia 

which  last  name  has  been  substituted  in  Did  he  meditate  malediction.'' — (71.) 

the  text  from  L.,  as  being  in  accordance          *  Elevated.  —  L.   reads    mapBcap,    "is 

with   the  prose,   especially  as   B.  imme-  killed,"  which  is  plainly  wrong.     In  line 

diately  after  agrees  with  L.  in  the  account  106  B.  reads  bo  acpuajaipe  ;  the  reading 

given  of  Ulfa  in  the  next  stanza. — (T.)  of  L.  has  been  preferred ( T.) 


140 

DO  pij;  popaib  uile 
pia  n-oul  a  cfp  n-aile. 

dp  apbepr  ppiu  Gpimon 

ap  in  Spino  peccap,  no 

ap  na  oeapna  oeabam 
immon  Ueuinaip  ceccaib. 

Tpi  cec  ban  no  bpeaca, 
uoib  pop  cecha  claraij, 

cioeab  p<>  bo  cuacail,  1 '  5 

jac  bean  50  n-a  bpacaip. 

(>nrap  para  poppo, 
ppi6  perinu  ppi  oipe, 
comb  poipe  a  marap, 
pup  jnach  jjob  in  pi^i.  120 

l?ept>aip  ap  in   Gpinn 
ma  peimnn  par-^lint), 
gan  mupeip  jan  mapc-luaj, 
nn  Carluan  nine  Cairinuio. 

Cac-molo6op  cnap-cpucnb  125 

i]'  Cacmacan  jjluctip, 

baoap 

1  SjHike. — Q  DuLpuopiu.L.   In  the  next  duiny,  vol.  xviii.) — (T.) 

line  L.  reads  corruptly  pin  n-<bpinopin  n-  "  Agreeable. — This  line   is  given  in  H. 

eicuip;  in  line  1 1 1  oeapnpuo  loroeupnu;  thus:  ooiG  po  pcereu  clurui^.   The  read- 

aiid  inline  1 12, ceccuichforcecctnb. —(?'.)  ing  of  L.  lias   been  preferred.      Tin-   true 

"'  Teamhair. — The  royal  palace  of  Tara,  reading   was    probably   ooib   pop   cerha 

in  the  county  of  Meath.   See  Mr.  Petrie's  clarai^. — (T.) 

Essay  on  the  History  and  Antiquities  of  "  And  her  brother — lit.  "  with  her  bro- 

Tara  Hill  (Trans,  of  the  Royal  Irish  Aca-  ther."  The  meaning  is  that  the  Irish  were 


141 

As  king  over  them  all, 

Before  they  set  out  to  another  country. 

For  to  them  spake1  Erimori 

Thai  out  of  Eri  they  should  go,  1 10 

Lest  they  should  make  battle 
For  Teamhairm,  as  a  possession. 

Three  hundred  women  were  given, 
To  them  they  were  agreeable", 

But  they  were  most  cunning,  i  1 5 

Each  woman  and  her  brother". 

There  were  oaths  Imposed  on  them, 
By  the  stars,  by  the  earth, 
That  from  the  nobility  of  the  mother 
Should  always  be  the  right  to  the  sovereignty1'.          120 

They  set  out  from  Eri 

On  their  oath-bound  expedition, 
Without  families,  without  cavalry, 
With  Cathluan,  son  of  Caitmiim'1. 

Catmolodorr  the  hard-knobbed,  125 

And  Cathmachan  the  bright, 

Were 

cunning  in  obtaining  conditions  from  the  gallons  guaranteed  by  oath  or  otherwise. 

Picts,  before  they  gave  them  women. (?'.)  — (?'.) 

p  Sovereignty This  distich  is  very  cor-  ''  Cuitminii — Cuicmo.  li. — ('/'.) 

rupt;  for  poppo,  line  117,  B.  reads  eppu.  r  Cutiiwlodor. — This  name  is  now  Cad- 
The  text  is  corrected  from  L.  Line  120  -waladyr.  He  appears  to  be  called  "  hard- 
is  also  adopted  from  L.,  instead  of  po  jjnu-  knobbed,"  in  allusion  to  the  deep  scars 
rai^  ippi^e,  the  reading  of  15.  L.  reads  with  which  his  body  was  tattooed  or  <ir- 
oe.nmu  inline  1 18, for  pennu.  In  line  117,  namented.  Lines  125  and  I  26  arc  uivc.n 
paru  signifies  not  so  much  oaths  as  obli-  thus  in  L. : 


142 

baoaji  gilli  jlop&a 

t)d  mac  cpotia  Cacluam. 

Q  copaib  cjniaiD  corhnapc 

ba  cpom  bale  a  caipm  peam  130 

Cinj  coceppnn  Oia  ceppn-peom 
Irn  mac  peppnn  a  n-amm-peorh. 


Vt-Uaipem  ainm  a 
no  pfpeo  in  peo-gin, 

po  bo  pup  oia  mili6  135 

Cpup  mac  Cipij  Ceclim. 

Cpuicne  mac  coip  Cfnca 
Doib  po  cluncha  rochmopc, 
co  rue  banncpacc  blaf-^lan 
Gap  Qclimaj,  oap  Qrjopr.  140 

Qnair  oib'  a  n-Galga, 
fio  lin  cepoa  ip  cupac, 

nao 

Caonolobop  cleclicip,  '•  Ciiul  >ki!ful   in  their  art''   [i.  e.   war]. 

ip  Cacainlocach  cnap  pumo.  In  the  next  line   the  scribe  luis   written 

"  Cadnolodur,  the  chief.  .un.  me  pipe,  "  the  *even  sons  of  Pirt,"  for 

And  Catainlwnch  tin-  n-d-km.lilii  '.!."  "  Im,  son  of  Pirnn."  _  (T.) 
The  word  clechcip  signilies  the  person          '  lluasem,  or  Uasem,  for  the  H  is  only 

in  u  tribe  to  whom  belonged  the  right  of  euphonic.   L.   reads   h-Uuipnecitn.     Thin 

final  appeal.    In  line  127  L.  inserts  jlcinu  name  sounds   not  unlike  that  of  Ossian, 

before  jjlopoa  —  (T.)  which,  however,  is  always  written  Oipm 

s  Their  trampling.  —  This  line  is  from  L.  in  Gaelic.     In  the  next  line  in  pec-  jean, 

B.  reads  ba  ooprm  bale  a  toip-peo.ii.  In  L.  —  (T.) 

the  next  line  B.  gives  Cind,  not  Cing,  as  u  Cctlim  __  Cheiclem.  L.    1  have  taken 

the  name   of  the  first  champion,   which  this   word  for  a  proper  name  ;    cec  lim 

agrees  with  the  prose  (see  page  125),  and  might  signify,  "I  acknowledge,"  "  I  al- 

reads    Cmo    co    cepo    oia    cepo-peom,  low."  —  (T.) 


143 

Were  glorious  youths, 
The  two  valiant  sons  of  Cathluan. 

His  hardy,  puissant  champions, 

Heavy,  stern,  was  their  trampling',  130 

Cing,  victorious  in  his  victory, 
Im,  son  of  Pernn,  were  their  names. 

Huasem'  was  the  name  of  his  poet, 

Who  sought  out  the  path  of  pleasantry. 

Ruddy  was  his  hero,  135 

Crus,  son  of  Cirigh  Cetlim". 

Cruithne,  son  of  just  Cingv, 
Attended  to  their  courts! up, 
So  that  he  brought  a  company  of  fair  women, 
Over  Athmagh,  over  Athgort.  140 

There  remained  of  them  behind  in  Ealga", 
With  mauy  artificers  and  warriors", 

Who 

v  Cirxj. — Cpuiehmj  meic  coip  5ln5u-  "  &akla- — B.    reads    mel^u,    which    is 

L.     In  the  remainder  of  this  stanza  the      perhaps  a  mistake  for  in  eigu.     Elga  or 
text  of  L.  has  been  followed.     B.  reads :         Ealga   was  one  of  the  poetical  names  of 

Ireland.    (In  cpeap  amm  (says  Keatinge) 
Ko  cincci  accocmop  ,  _ 

Imp   6alcu   .1.    oilen    uaral.      Oip  up 
Co  cue  banncpacc  mblacn  rlan 

._  lonann  imp  ~\  Ollen,  -i  ap  lonann  enlrci  -i 

Da  nacn  sopr,  .  ,    , 

uafol,  ~\  op  pe  linn  peap  m-oolj  pd  ^mir 

which  must  be  corrupt,  for  it  violates  the  an  c-amm  pin  uippe.      "  The  third  mime 

metre.     Different  duties  are  assigned  to  (Of  Ireland)  was   Inis  Ealga,   i.  e.    noble 

Cruithne  here,  and  in  the  prose  account,  island  ;    for  Inis  is  the   same  as   island, 

where  he  is   called  a  ceapo,  their  artist  and  Ealga  is  the  same  as  noble;  and  this 

or  artificer.     The  places  called  Athmagh  was  its  usual  name  from  the  time  of  the 

and  Athgort,  line    140,  are  unknown —  Fir-bolgs." — (T.) 
(T.)  x  Wamom. — B.  reads  cpucm,  for  which 


144 


nan  cepeao  pop  bpeagrnach 
peipeap  Denrmac  t>pua6. 

Opuibeacc  if  lolacr,  maic, 
in  ailc  mm  jlan  mup  glcm, 
bapc  oibeipjji,  Duain  51 1, 
ip  uaioib  po  munab. 

TTlopab  ppeo  ip  mana, 
paja  pin,  am  pona, 
jocha  en  Do  paipe 
caipi  7;ac  ceol  cona. 


'45 


i  c 


5° 


cupach,  the  reading  of  L.,  has  been  sub- 
stituted. The  next  line  is  also  taken  from 
L.  B.  reads  na  po  ceippeao  &peayjtnac, 
"  they  would  not  leave  Breghmagh."  Tlie 
Druids  are  called  "  demon-like,"  or  "  de- 
vilish," as  being  skilled  in  demoniacal 
arts. — (T.) 

J  Drutdism. — The  word  maic  is  so  ex- 
plained in  an  old  glossary  in  the  Library 
of  Trinity  College,  Dublin.  The  whole 
stanza  is  thus  given  in  B. : 

TDpuioechc  i  loluclic  rrKir  mapc 
mm  bale  in  up  jlan  Jjlep 
oibao  30  ouun  jil 
ip  uaioib  po  rnunuo, 

which  is  so  corrupt  that  it  is  difficult  to 
translate  it,  and  it  is  also  inconsistent 
with  the  laws  of  the  metre.  The  text  of 
L.  has  been  followed,  with  one  correction 


Cnuic  ip  coipn  npcopa, 

cen  cpojja  cuach  caille, 

ruapgaihper 

of  uaoib  po  in  the  last  line,  for  uuib  pib 


"Sredlif  __  B.  reads  p  lea£,  a  word  which 
may  signify  "  spears  ;"  but  the  reading  of 
L.  is  preferred,  as  being  in  accordance  with 
the  pivi-e.  See  p.  125.  As  the  meaning 
of  the  word  ppeo  or  fjieoo  is  doubtful,  it 
has  been  left  untranslated.  See  the  poem 
attributed  to  St.  Columba,  Miscell.  Irish 
Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  i.  p.  2,  and  note  31,  p.  12, 
where  Mr.  O'Donovan  conjectured  it  to 
be  the  ancient  form  of  epeao,  a  flock  or 
herd.  But  he  has  since  found  another  copy 
of  that  poem  in  a  parchment  MS.  in  the 
Bodleian  Library  at  Oxford,  Laud.  615, 
p.  7,  where  the  word  is  twice  written 
with  an  aspiration  on  the  t>,  thus  :  "  ni  haj 
ppeoio  acu  mo  cuift;  and  again,  rta  ha- 
6cnp  DO  joraib  gepjy  na  |  peoo,  na  pen 
up  bif  ce  ;"  it  is  also  found  written  in 


145 


Who  settled  in  Breagh-magli, 
Six  demon-like  druids. 

Necromancy  and  idolatry,  druidism1', 
In  a  fair  and  well-walled  house, 
Plundering  in  ships,  bright  poems, 
By  them  were  taught. 

The  honoring  of  sredhsz  and  omens, 
Choice  of  weather3,  lucky  times, 
The  watching  the  voices  of  birds, 
They  practised  without  disguise. 

Hills  and  rocks  they  prepared  for  the  plough, 
Among  their  sons  were  no  thieves, 


MSS.  indifferently  ppeo  and  flle5i  from 
which  we  may  infer  that  the  final  letter 
was  always  intended  to  be  pronounced 
with  aspiration,  therefore  the  word  must 
he  ppeo,  ppiao,  pper,  or  ppeor,  a  sneezing, 
a  word  still  in  use,  which  is  also  frequently 
written  ppor  or  ppo£.  It  is  well  known 
that  sneezing,  both  among  the  Greeks  and 
Homans,  and  also  in  the  middle  ages,  was 
regarded  as  ominous,  and  made  use  of  for 
the  purposes  of  divination.  This  super- 
stition was  prohibited  by  several  enact- 
ments of  councils  and  synods,  and  formed 
a  frequent  topic  of  reprobation  from  the 
pulpit.  As  an  example  we  may  cite  the 
following  passage  from  a  sermon  preached 
by  St.  Eligius  or  Eloy,  who  became  Bishop 
oi'  Koyon  about  the  year  640,  "  Similiter 
et  auguria,  vel  sternutationes,  nolite  obser- 
vare,  nee  in  itinere  positi  aliquas  aviculas 
IRISH  ARCH.  SOC.  1 6.  1 


They 

cantantes  attendatis,  sed  sive  iter,  sivc 
quodcunque  operis  arripitis  signate  vos  in 
nomine  Christi,  etc." — Vit.  S.Eligii.  lib.  ii. 
c.  15,  apud  Dacherii  Spicil.  p.  97.  See  also 
the  "Libellus  abbatis  Pirminii,"  publish- 
ed by  Mabillon,  which  he  supposes  to  be- 
long to  the  year  758 :  "  Noli  adorare  idola, 
non  ad  petras,  neque  ad  arbores,  non  ad 
angulos ;  neque  ad  fontes,  ad  trivios  nolite 
adorare,  nee  vota  reddere.  Precantatores, 
et  sortileges,  karagios,  aruspices,  divinos, 
ariolos,  magos,  maleficos,  stermttus,  et  au- 
guria per  aviculas,  vel  alia  ingenia  mala 
et  diabolica  nolite  facere  etcredere."— Vet. 
Anal.  p.  69.  These  examples  will  suffice 
to  shew  the  late  continuance  of  this 
class  of  superstitions. — See  also  Grimm's 

Deutsche  Mythologie,  p.  647 (T.) 

8  Weather. — This  line  is  from  L.     B. 
reads  poju  peun  ni  pona.  Line  152  is  also 


146 


c  a  cinojiem 
puno  a  n-mbeji  bonni. 

6a  lieab  looayi  uainoi 
5o-n-5lucnpe  na  5fn'be, 
ima  raijj  co  cpene 
i  ci|i  mai  peach  lie. 


J55 


160 


from  L.  B.  reads  chaipe  jan  eel  cona. 
For  paipe,  line  151,  B.  reads  aipe — (T.) 

b  Inbher  Boinnc. — The  mouth  of  the 
river  Boyne,  which  runs  through  the  re- 
gion of  Bregia,  where  the  Picts,  accord- 
ing to  the  account  here  given  of  them, 
had  their  settlement  in  Ireland.  In  line 
153,  L.  reads  coipci,  and  in  line  155, 
cuapjjcnbpec  Oia  cinopum,  where  B.  has 
po  coftpac.  In  line  156,  the  reading  of  L. 
is  adopted.  B.  reads  jabpac  inbep  m- 
ftomoe,  but  the  text  in  both  copies  is  pro- 
bably very  corrupt. — (T.) 

c  Away. — L.  reads  bu  heaoap  oo  looap, 
"  by  Edar  [the  hill  of  Howth],  they  passed 
from  us."  In  lines  159,  160,  B.  reads: 

imma  lar  co  opene 

i  cip  lac  peach  He. — (2'.) 

d  He. — The  island  of  Hay  or  Ha,  one 
of  the  five  Ebuda;  or  Hebrides,  anciently 
Epidium,  and  long  the  capital  seat  of 
the  Lordship  of  the  Isles.  It  lies  out- 
side of  the  Mull  of  Cantire  or  Epidian 
Forelund,  to  the  inside  of  which  lies  Boot 
or  Bute.  And  I  suppose  that  King  Bruide 
the  First,  whom  I  have  argued  (See  Addit. 
Notes,  No.  XVII.)  to  be  the  very  first 


king  of  Gwyddyl  Fichti  in  Britain,  was 
called  Brudi  Bout,  from  that  island.  If 
the  first  descent  was  on  Hay,  Bute  was  a 
snug  and  likely  place  to  become  the  royal 
residence. 

This  statement  is  somewhat  different 
from  that  of  Nennius,  cap.  5,  that  the 
Piets  first  occupied  the  Orkneys,  "  ft 
postea  ex  affinitimis  insulis  vastaverunt 
non  modicas  et  multas  regiones,  occupa- 
veruntque  eas  in  sinistrali  parto  Britan- 
nia;;" though  even  he  admits  that  they 
did  not  occupy  the  mainland  from  the 
Orkneys  immediately,  but  from  the  other 
islands.  Beda  says  generally,  "  habitare 
per  septentrionales  insula;  paries  cffipe- 
runt  ;"  and  that  phrase,  which  meant  no 
more  than  Alban  or  the  ultra-mural 
Britain  in  general,  may  possibly  have 
suggested  the  statement  in  the  Ilistoria 
Britonum.  That  they  stood  over  from 
Cruthenia  in  as  nearly  as  may  be  the  same 
course,  as  in  after  days  their  neighbours 
of  the  Dalriadha  pursued,  is  the  probabi- 
lity, as  well  as  the  best  authority.  When 
we  read  that  Muredach,  son  of  Angus, 
was  the  "  primus  colonus"  of  Hay  (Ogygia, 
p.  470),  of  course  we  merely  understand 


147 


They  prepared  their  expedition 
Here  at  Inbher  Boinneb. 

They  passed  awayc  from  us 

With  the  splendour  of  swiftness, 

To  dwell  by  valour 

In  the  beautiful  land  of  He". 


'55 


1 60 
From 


that  he  was  the  first  Dalriadhan  settler. 
The  termini  given  by  this  poet  exclude 
the  Orkneys,  of  which  the  Irish  legend 
seems  to  say  nothing  ;  and,  though  Nen- 
nius  in  cap.  5  mentions  the  temporary  oc- 
cupation of  them  by  the  Picts,  in  his  first 
chapter  he  places  them  ultra  Pictos,  which 
the  name  of  the  Pightland  Firth  doth  like- 
wise imply.  Yet  it  is  not  to  be  doubted 
that  the  Picts  did  possess  those  islands 
before  the  Norwegians.  See  Wallace's 
Orkneys,  cap.  xi.  p.  67,  Ed.  1693;  Adam- 
nan,  ii.  cap.  42.  The  History  of  the  Picts 
ascribed  to  H.  Maule  of  Melgund  has  a 
legend  of  Leutha,  king  of  the  Picts  of 
Orkney,  who  subdued  and  gave  his  name 
to  the  isle  of  Lewis  ;  p.  29,  Ed.  Glasg. 
1818.  The  Diploma  of  Thomas  Bishop 
of  Orkney  (ap.  Orkneyinga  Saga,  p.  549, 
550)  avers,  upon  the  authority  of  an- 
cient records,  that  the  Norwegians  found 
two  nations  in  Orkney,  the  Peti  (Picts) 
and  the  Papse,  but  entirely  destroyed  them 
both.  The  former  is  a  known  Saxon  and 
Norse  softening  of  the  name  Pict.  "  Scotia? 
ac  Petice  insularumque  quas  Australes 
vel  Meridianas  vocant."  Saxo  Gramm. 
Hist.  Dan.  ix.  p.  171.  etc.  We  must 

u 


adopt  the  conclusion,  that  the  Papas  were 
the  Irish  fathers  of  the  rule  of  St.  Co- 
lumkille,  who  repaired  to  the  Orkneys, 
and  obtained  possession  of  Papa  Stronsa 
and  Papa  Westra,  as  he  had  done  of  lona ; 
though,  perhaps,  with  this  addition,  that 
all  the  inhabitants  of  the  Papa  islands, 
and  not  alone  the  religious,  came  to  be 
so  called.  That  opinion,  I  think,  is  de- 
cided by  the  statement  of  Ari  Froda, 
that,  when  Ingulf  the  Norwegian  visited 
Iceland,  he  found  some  Christians  there, 
whom  the  Northmen  call  Papaa,  who, 
not  choosing  to  associate  with  heathens, 
went  away,  leaving  behind  them  Irish 
books,  bells,  and  croziers ;  and  from  these 
things  it  was  easily  judged  they  were 
Irish.  Arius,  cap.  ii.  p.  10,  Ed.  1744. 
If  Iceland  be  the  Thule  Insula  of  Dicuil, 
who  wrote  his  book  De  Mensura  Orbis 
in  825,  he  had  thirty  years  before  con- 
versed with  some  clerici  who  had  so- 
journed upon  that  island  from  the  ist  of 
February  to  the  I  st  of  August,  and  in  the 
summer  could  see  to  catch  the  lice  upon 
their  shirts  at  midnight — Cap.  vii.  s.  2, 
n.  6.  This  was  seventy-nine  years  anterior 
to  the  voyage  of  Ingulf.  Arngrim  Jonas 
2 


148 


Ip  ap  gabpac  Glbain, 
anft-jlain  ailep  coijiriu, 
cen  Oich  luce  la  rpebru 
o  quch  Char  co  poipcu. 

T?op  bpip  Carluan  cacu 
gen  cacu  cen  cechcu 


165 


observed  that  the  small  island  of  Papcy, 
in  East  Iceland,  was  probably  a  seat  of  the 
Irish  Papa;,  and  expressed  the  like  opinion 
(which  Mr.  Pinkerton  has  adopted  without 
acknowledgment)  of  Papa  Stronsaand  Papa 
Westra.  Arngr.  Island.  Primordia,  p.  375, 
Ed.  II.  Steph.  St.  Cormac  the  Navigator, 
called  O'Liathain,  whose  daring  coracle 
visited  the  Orkneys  under  letters  of  safe 
conduct  obtained  for  him  by  Columbkille 
from  Bruide,  king  of  Picts,  sailed  about 
with  the  express  object  of  finding  for 
himself  an  eremus  (hermitage)  in  oceano. 
Adamnan,  i.  cap.  6,  ii.,  cap.  42.  Thus  it 
was  that  the  kings  and  toparchs  of  the  Peti 
received  the  Papa?  into  the  smaller  isles. 
The  same  Dicuil  mentions  some  little  is- 
lands, to  be  reached  in  two  days  and  the 
intervening  night,  in  a  boat  of  two  benches, 
from  septentrioualibus  Britannia;  insulis 
(Orkneys?),  and  which  I  take  to  be  the 
Faroes,  in  quibus  in  centum  ferine  annis 
(from  825,  making  725)  eremita;  ex  nostril 
Scottia  navigantcs  habitaverunt ;  but  the 
latronesNortmanni  had  driven  them  away, 
and  the  islets  were  vacua;  anachoretis,  but 

full   of  sheep  and  wild  fowl Ibid.  s.  3. 

— (//.)     The  word  5piKe,  line  158,  has 
been  supposed  to  signify  swiftness.    In  the 


nip. 

Leabhar  Gabhala  of  the  OClerys,  p.  96,  in 
an  historical  poem  by  Eochaidh  O'Flynn, 
we  rind  an  apo  abaip  n-imjpib,  where 
the  Gloss  is  lap  an  uapal  ci^epna  apo 
ba  cornluac  in-oeatjai6  no  in  lopjcnl, 
i.  e.  "  the  noble  lord  who  was  all  swiftness 
in  battles  and  conflicts."  And  in  the  an- 
cient metrical  Glossary  called  "  Poetry  is 
the  Sister  of  Wisdom,"  jpib  is  explained 
amm  DO  luup,  "  a  name  for  swiftness." 
-(T.) 

e  The  people — Lines  163  and  164  are 
from  L.  B.  reads 

cen  bieh  clacc  la  cpebcu 
o  chpicac  co  poipciu, 

which  is  manifestly  corrupt — (T.) 

'  Cat. — The  region  of  Cat  is  the  country 
now  called  Cathancsia,  or  Caithness.  Its 
derivation  from  C'aith  or  Cat,  one  of 
Cruthne'a  seven  sons,  is  a  patronymical 
fable.  Whether  derived  from  the  wild 
cat,  like  the  Clan  Chattan,  whose  terri- 
tory included  Caithness  (see  Scott's  Maid 
of  Perth,  iii.  chap.  4),  or  from  cath,  war, 
battle,  the  sound  of  it  seems  to  recur 
in  the  names  Cathluan,  Catnolodar,  Cat- 
nolachan.  That  province  may  have  owed 
celebrity  to  its  position  as  a  northern 


149 


From  thence  they  conquered  Alba, 
The  noble  nurse  of  fruitfulness. 
Without  destroying  the  people6  or  their  houses, 
From  the  region  of  Catf  to  Forcug. 

Cathluan  gained  battles 

Without  flinching  or  cowardice, 


165 


His 


terminus;  as  Nennius   says,   "  a  Totenes 
usque  ad  Catenes." 

The  Tractatus  de  Situ  Albania?  (com- 
posed by  an  Englishman,  at  least  not  by  a 
Scot,  soon  after  1 1 85,  and  printed  by 
Innes,  ii.,  768-72,  with  a  suspicion  that 
Giraldus  was  its  author),  divides  Albania 
into  the  seven  portions  of  seven  brothers, 
of  which  the  seventh  was  "  Cathanesia 
eitra  montem  et  ultra  montem,  quia  mons 
Mound  dividit  Cathanesiam  per  medium," 
The  Mons  Mound  was  Mount  Ord,  and 
the  Cathanesia  cis  montem  was  the  Su- 
durland  (southern  land)  of  the  Northmen. 
"  Of  old,  Sutherland  was  called  Cattey, 
and  its  inhabitants  Catteigh,  and  so  like- 
wise was  Caithness  and  Strathnaver;  and, 
in  the  Irish,  Sutherland  to  this  day  is 
called  Catey,  and  its  inhabitants  Catigh  ; 
adeo  ut  Catteyness  nihil  aliud  sit  quam 
promontorium  Catta?  seu  Sutherlandiw, 
quod  promontorium  a  latere  oriental! 
mentis  Ordi  prsetenditur." — Blaew  cit. 
in  Brand's  Orkney,  cap.  xi.  As  Caith- 
ness lies  not  at  all  north,  but  fairly  east, 
of  Sutherland  in  its  enlarged  sense  (for 
Dunnet  Head  in  Caithness  is  only  58°  35' ; 
and  Cape  Wrath  is  58°  34'),  it  is  evi- 
dent that  the  Sudurland  of  the  North- 


men was  only  the  portion  properly  so 
called,  and  that  they  did  not  include 
therein  the  Strathnavern.  But  as  they 
divided  those  parts  into  the  jarldom  of 
Katanes  and  the  Sudurland,  we  should, 
I  think,  infer  that  Strathnavern  was  in- 
cluded in  the  jarldom ;  while  the  Sudur- 
land, though  infested,  and  perhaps  partly 
inhabited,  by  Northmen,  was  not  thus 
feudally  detached  from  the  crown  of  the 
Scoto-Picts.  Sir  Walter  Scott  mentions, 
that  the  territory  of  the  Clann  Chattan 
comprehended  Sutherland  and  Caithness 
[Cathanesiam  citra  et  ultra],  and  that  the 
Earl  of  Sutherlandshire  was  their  para- 
mount chief,  with  the  title  of  Mohr  Ar 
Chat  ;  and,  though  he  includes  Inverness, 
and  even  Perth,  within  the  limits  of  that 
clan  or  league  of  clans,  as  referrible  to 
the  fifteenth  century,  we  may  safely  es- 
teem that  the  Chattanaich  originally  de- 
noted the  people  of  Katanes  within  and 

without  Ord (//.) 

B  Forcu. — Of  the  place  here  called  Furnu 
I  can  give  no  account.  It  must  have  been 
on  the  southern  extremity  of  Fortren  Mor. 
FOR  is  the  favourite  Pictish  prefix,  as  in 
Fortren,  their  kingdom,  Forteviot,  their 
palace,  Fordun,  Forfar,  Forres,  &c.  Pos- 


I50 

nip  bo  irrgajig  cuchcu 
co  jio  mapb  6]ieacnu. 

ba  oe  gabpac  Qlbain, 

ajio-jjlain  calcain  clac-mfn, 

co  n-imao  amlaeB 

co  Cinaer  mac  n-Qlpm 


170 


sibly  the  Glas-cu  of  the  Strathclyde  Bri- 
tons was  Forcu  in  their  vocabulary. — (//.) 

h  Onsets,  i.  e.  the  fierceness  of  his  onsets 
was  not  relaxed  or  diminished  until,  &c. 
For  cechcu,  line  166,  B.  reads  cpeocu, 
and,  line  167,  cuiciu  for  cucrhu.  The 
readings  of  L.  have  been  followed  in  the 
text.— (T.) 

'  Conquer — L.  adds  Cpuichni^,  "the 
Cruithnians  seized  on  Alba,"  and  gives 
this  stanza  thus: 

6a  be  jubpafc  Cpuiclimj 
Qlbain  cuprhig  elacc  mm 
ep  cloo  a  n-il  ael 
co  cineuo  mac  Qilpm. 

Thus  did  the  Cruitlinians  acquire 

Alban,  the  fruitful,  the  smooth-surfaced, 
After  defeating  their  many  rocks  [?] 
To  Cinacdh  Mac  Ailpin. 

or  ael  may  signify  sharp  weapons.  But 
B.  has  im  for  co,  in  line  172 — (T.) 

J  Many  an  Amlaff. — Amlaff,  Amlaib, 
Aulaib,  &c.,  for  Olaf,  was  the  prominent 
name  among  those  northern  vikingar,  who 
ravaged,  and  in  part  conquered,  Ireland 
and  Pictland,  during  the  ninth  and  tenth 
centuries.  See  Battle  of  Magh  Rath, 


p.  290,  and  the  Editor's  note.  In  852(3) 
Amlaip,  king  of  Lochlin,  came  into  Ire- 
land and  exacted  tribute  there. — Ann. 
Ult.  In  the  spring  of  866  he  ravaged 
Pictland.  Three  years  later  he  was  slain 
by  Constantine,  king  of  Picts.— Ann.  Ult. 
and  Chron.  Pict.  Among  the  Danes  of 
Northumbria  and  Lothian  the  name  of 
Anlaf  was  popular,  and  one  of  their  An- 
lafs  fought  on  the  Scottish  side  at  Brunen- 
burg  in  937.— Chalmers'  Caled.  i.  337,  338. 
Amlaib  Mcllluib,  son  of  Indulf  (so  Dr. 
O'Conor),  king  of  Albany,  was  slain  by 
Kenneth,  son  of  Malcolm  [son  of  Domh- 
nall,  ap.  Ann.  Ult.,  but  erroneously],  in 

976  or  977 Tig.  et  Ann.  Ult.  in  annis.   It 

would  seem  as  if  king  Indulfus  had  married 
some  vikingr's  daughter,  to  have  an  Amlaff 
for  his  son.  The  year  979  saw  the  death  of 
the  son  of  Amlaff  the  younger,  grandson 
of  Amlaff  the  elder,  at  the  battle  of  Te- 
mora.  And  in  980  Amlaibh  Mc  Sitriuc, 
last  Danish  king  of  Dublin,  retired  to 
lona.  It  is  evident  that  this  popular  name 
had  come  to  be  expressive  of  the  nation 
who  used  it,  as  those  of  John,  Patrick, 
and  David  have  connected  themselves  with 
three  sections  of  our  island  empire ;  with 


His  onsets"  were  not  without  fierceness, 
Until  he  had  slain  the  Britons. 

Thus  did  they  conquer'  Alba, 

Noble,  gentle-hilled,  smooth-surfaced. 
With  many  an  AmlafP, 
Down  to  Cinaeth  mac  Alpink, 


170 


For 


this  further  resemblance  to  the  two  latter, 
that  Olaf  son  of  Tryggvi,  and  St.  Olaf, 
were  the  apostles  of  religion  in  Norway. 

The  main  error  of  our  bard,  if  the 
reading  in  the  text  be  correct,  would  con- 
sist in  the  supposition  that  an  intermix- 
ture of  Northmen  with  Scots  and  Picts 
existed  from  the  beginning ;  and  that 
"  many  an  Amlaff"  had  combined  with 
the  Cruthnich  in  their  first  occupation  of 
Albany.  If,  however,  we  were  at  liberty 
to  make  a  transposition  of  two  lines,  we 
might  thereby  restore  the  truth  of  history 
to  our  bard.  That  they  "  seized  on  Alba, 
with  many  an  Amlaff,  till  Kenneth  Mac  Al- 
pin,"  would  be  enormous  error ;  but  that 
they  did  so  "  till  Kenneth  Mac  Alpin  with 
many  an  Amlaff,"  is  the  truth.  For  it 
was  in  his  (the  first  Scoto-Pictish)  reign, 
that  Danari  (the  Danes  under  Amlaiv) 
vastaverunt  Pictaviam  for  the  first  time. 
— Chron.  Pict.  in  num.  77 — (H.) 

Perhaps  the  word  ctmlaeb  in  the  text 
(if  that  be  the  original  reading)  may  not 
be  a  proper  name,  but  may  be  used  in 
the  sense  of  a  champion,  a  hero,  from 
which  the  proper  name  is  derived;  but 
for  this  we  have  no  authority,  and  it  is, 


therefore,  more  probable,  that  the  bard 
had  no  idea  of  speaking  of  "  Amlaffs"  at 
all,  and  that  in  line  171  there  are  mis- 
takes of  the  scribe.  We  should  read  per- 
haps a  momao  nil  aeb,  i.  e.  "  with  their 
many  arts"  or  sciences,  deb  is  explained 
eulaoa,  arts  or  sciences,  in  old  glossaries, 
and  ml  may  easily  be  confounded  with 
nil.  But  as  this  is  only  conjecture,  no 
alteration  has  been  made  in  the  text. — 
(T.) 

k  Cinaeth  mac  Alpin. — Kenneth  Mac  Al- 
pin was  king  of  Scots,  or  of  the  British  Dal- 
riada,  called  Airer-Gaedhal,  i.  e.  territory 
of  the  Gael ;  which  name  of  Gael,  Gaithel, 
or  Gaedhael  was  then  synonymous  to  that 
of  Scots.  The  country  bearing  the  national 
appellation  of  Argyle  included,  besides  the 
modern  Argyle  proper,  the  territory  of 
Loarn  or  Lorn,  and  those  of  Knapdale, 
Cowel,  and  Cantire;  being  bounded  to 
the  east  by  Mount  Drum-Alban,  Adam- 
nan's  Dorsum  Britannire,  and  southward 
by  the  Firth  of  Clyde.  In  843  he  wrested 
the  kingdom  of  Albany  out  of  the  hands 
of  its  last  native  ruler,  Bruide  the  Seventh, 
and  the  Scots  and  Picts  were  never  again 
disunited.  This  is  the  usual  epoch  of  the 


!75 


152 

Qp  cpeacab  n-apo  n-aicni6, 
pop  aiccib  cen  uchneim 
nf  celloap  in  coclaij, 
ap  DC  aobepap  Cpuirnij. 

Coeca  pig  cem  cpecac, 
map  aen  De  pi  Gcoac, 
o  pep^up  po  pfpio 
co  mac  m-bpijac  m-bperach. 

Se  pija  ap  pe  oeicib, 

Dib  ppi  peifim  puil  cpech    • 
cappac  picbe  puiclech, 
jabpar  pije  Cpuicneac. 

Cpuichmj  oop  popclam. 

[DO 


180 


Conquest;  altliougli  three  princes  of  the 
Pictish  line,  Kenneth,  Bruide,  and  ])rus- 
tan,  kept  up  a  struggle  against  die  son 
of  Alpin  till  846.— (//.) 

1  Plundering. —L,  reads  ceclmuo,  and 
in  the  next  line  cticib  for  airtib.  But 
cen  uchneam  is  adopted  from  L.  instead 
of  cen  ucli  in  15.  In  line  175  L.  reads 
nu  cochlcnb.  The  writer's  meaning  in 
this  stanza  secius  to  be,  that  the  name 
of  Cruithniun  was  derived  from  cpeucao, 
plundering.  But  the  whole  passage  is  very 
obscure.  The  word  upo,  line  173,  1  have 
taken  to  signify  a  place,  a  point  of  the 
compass,  a  sense  in  which  it  is  still  used; 
and  uircib  ]  suppose  to  be  the  same  as 
pcnrcib,  a  word  that  has  already  been  ex- 
plained; see  above,  p. 93,  note".  Cpeacao, 
in  line  173,  might  also  signify  wounding, 


scarring  ;  alluding  to  the  tattooing  prac- 
tised among  the  Picts;  but  it  will  be  diffi- 
cult to  make  the  remainder  of  the  stanza 
square  with  this.  The  translation  adopted 
is,  therefore,  more  probably  the  intended 
meaning,  especially  as  the  word  cpecuc 
appears  to  be  used  in  the  same  significa- 
tion in  line  177  ;  and  see  line  182. — (T.) 
m  Fifty  L'ingf — That  is  to  say,  inclu- 
sive. For  Macbeth,  king  of  Scots  and 
Picts,  is  the  fiftieth  in  the  enumeration 
of  the  Scots  kings  from  Loarn  Mac  Ere, 
in  the  Duan  Albanach,  a  contemporary 
poem  ;  and  apud  Ogygia,  p.  488,  and  the 
Tables  in  Pinkerton,  ii.  p.  352,  353.  In  the 
list  of  the  same,  ap.  Innes  App.  p.  767,  he 
is  only  the  fortieth.  But  without  counting 
the  three  competitors  from  843  to  848, 
he  was  numbered  ninety-second  in  the 


153 

For  plundering1  known  places, 
And  greens,  without  remorse, 
For  not  practising  inactivity, 
For  this  are  they  called  Cruithnians. 

Fifty  kings'"  of  plundering  career, 

Every  one  of  them  of  the  race  of  Eochaidh", 

From  Fergus,  most  truly, 

To  the  vigorous  Mac  Brethach0. 


'75 


180 


Six  kings  .and  six  times  ten 

Of  them  who  attended  to  bloody  plunder: 

They  loved  merry  forays, 

They  possessed  the  sovereignty  of  the  Cruithnians. 

The  Cruithnians  who  propagated1'. 

" 


Pictish  catalogue  from  Cruithne,  the  se- 
venty-ninth from  Brudi  Bout,  and  the 
fifty-seventh  from  Drust  Mac  Erp. — (//.) 

°  Eochaidh — This  was  Eochaidh  Muin- 
reamhair,  father  of  Ere,  and  grandfather 
of  Loarn  and  Fergus  ;  himself  the  third 
in  descent  from  Cairbre  Riada,  and  the 
fourth  from  Conary  II.,  king  of  Erin, 
whom  the  princes  of  the  Dal  Riada  affected 
for  the  founder  of  their  race,  the  "  Clamia 
Chonaire."  Duan,  ver.  27 — (//.) 

0  Mac  Brethach,  or  perhaps  we  should 
read  Mac  Bethach.  See  Additional  Notes, 
No.  XIX.  This  stanza  and  the  next  oc- 
cur only  in  the  Book  of  Ballymote.  If 
they  are  a  portion  of  the  original  poem 
the  writer  must  have  lived  after  A.  D. 
1040,  in  which  year  Macbeth  began  his 
reign.— (T). 

IRISH  ARCH.  SOC.   id.  * 


The  sixty-six  kings  mentioned  in  tin- 
next  stanza  are  evidently  the  kings  of 
the  old  Cruithnian  race,  beginning  with 
Cruithne  Mac  Cinge,  and  ending  with 
Drusken  Mac  Feredach,  according  to  For- 
dun's  list,  which  contains  exactly  sixty- 
six  kings,  including  Keneth  Mac  Alpin, 
by  whom  Drusken  was  overthrown,  and 
in  whose  person  the  Fergusian  and  Pictish 
monarchies  were  united. — (T.)  Of  these 
kings  thirty-three  are  Pagan  and  thirty- 
three  Christian  ;  a  circumstance  which 
looks  like  contrivance.  And  we  may  add 
that  sixty-six  (like  309,  the  number  of 
the  original  Agathyrsi,  see  p.  133,  line  40), 
is  the  bardic  expression  of  12. — (II.) 

p  The  Cruithnians  who  propagated. — This 
is  a  repetition  of  the  first  line  of  the  poem, 
a  usual  custom  with  Irish  scribes,  to  mark 
X 


»54 


[t>o  &UNat)ai6  MQ  crcuicnNecn  awt)so 

XXXI.  Cpuichne  mac  Cinge  pacap  piccoptim  habioann  in  aca 
inpola  .c.  annip  penebaic  ;  .un.  meic  po  ceachc  ;  ace  ann  po  a 
n-anmano  .1.  pib,  pioach,  Polclaij,  popcpeno,  Caicc,  Ce,  Cip- 
cinj. 

Cipcm  .Ipr.  annaip  pegnau. 

PIOOC  .jcl.  annip  p. 

Popcpeno  .pi.  annip  p. 

polclaio  .jc;r;r.  a.  p. 

^acc  .pen.  a.  p. 

Ce  .;ru.  a.  p. 

pmbaiio  .prjcnn.  a.  p. 

^eioe  Olljocliach  .l;r;r;r.  a.  p. 

Oenbejan  [c.]  a.  p. 

Ollpinacca  .l/r.  a.  p. 


that  the  poem  they  had  copied  was  con- 
cluded, lest  the  next  article  to  it  in  their 
MS.  might  be  deemed  to  be  a  continua- 
tion of  it.— (IV) 

11  Here  follows. — This  title  is  added  from 
the  Book  of  Lecan,  which  contains  iwo 
copies  of  sect.  xxxi.  one  at  the  beginning 
of  the  work,  and  the  other  after  the  Mira- 
bilia,  in  what  seems  to  have  been  intended 
as  a  new  edition  or  revision  of  the  work. 
They  shall  be  denoted,  as  before,  by  L'. 
and  L'-'.  In  L'.  and  B.  the  title  prefixed 
is  Do  bunuo  Cpuiclinech  [unn]  po.  Piu- 
kerton,  in  his  quotation  from  the  Book  of 
Ballymote,  has  erroneously  made  this  title 
a  part  of  the  preceding  paragraph ;  vol.  i. 
App.  No.  xiv.  These  several  copies  of  this 
section  differ  so  widely  that  they  will  be 


given  separately  in  the  Additional  Notes, 
No.  XX.  The  text  of  all  that  follows  is 
from  1) (T.) 

'  Cniithne,  fun  of  dug,- — Infte,  D.  and 
L2.  Oinje  L'.and  B. — (7'.)  Cingiamighty, 
a  ting,  a  jiri/icc.  E.  Lluyd's  Irish-English 
Diet.  But  John  of  Fordun  has  it  (iv.  cap. 
10),  "  Cruythne  filius  kynnejudieis;"  and 
in  i.  cap.  35,  he  says,  "  dementis  unius 
judicum  filius."  This  homonomy  shews 
him  to  have  understood  kynne,  kin,  or 
kind,  in  the  modern  sense  of  the  adjective 
kind,  i.  e.  benevolent,  a  sense  which  has 
escaped  Dr.  Jamieson's  lexicographical 
researches.— (//.) 

s  Regnabat — The  transcriber  was  evi- 
dently utterly  ignorant  of  Latin,  and  has 
absurdly  perverted  these  words  ;  and  the 


J55 


HERE  FOLLowsq  OF  THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  CRUITHNIANS. 

XXXI.  Cruithne,  son  of  Cingr,  pater  Pictorum  habitantium  in 
hac  insula,  c.  annis  regnabat5.  He  had  seven  sons.  These  are  their 
names,  viz.,  Fib,  Fidach,  Foltlaig,  Fortrend,  Caitt,  Ce,  Circing'. 

Circing  Ix.  annis  regnavit. 

Fidach  xl.  annis  regnavit. 

Fortrend  xl.  annis  regnavit. 

Foltlaid  xxx.  annis  regnavit, 

Gatt  \i.  e.  Caitt]  xii.  annis  regnavit 

Ce  xii.  annis  regnavit. 

Fidbaid  [/.  e.  Fib]  xxiiii.  annis  regnavit. 

Geide  Ollgothach  Ixxx.  annis  regnavit. 

Oenbegan  c.  annis  regnavit. 

Ollfinachta  Ix.  annis  regnavit, 

same  may  be  said  of  almost  every  scrap  of 
Latin  which  he  had  occasion  to  transcribe ; 
liis  attempts  at  Latin  are  here  given,  how- 
ever, exactly  as  they  stand  in  the  original 
MS.,  although  they  have  been,  of  course, 
corrected  in  the  translation. — (2'.) 

'  Circing. — In  B.  these  names  are  given 
thus  :  Fib,  Fidach,  Fonla,  Fortreann, 
Cathach,  Gait  Ce,  Cirig.  The  insertion  of 
Cathach  renders  it  necessary  either  to 
make  Caitce  one  name,  not  two  separate 
names,  as  the  above  list,  and  some  other 
transcribers  (no  doubt  rightly)  have  done, 
or  else  to  make  Fodla-Fortrean,  (i.  e.  Fodla 
of  Fortren)  one  name,  although  in  the 
above  list  they  are  given  as  two,  for  Folt- 
laid is  the  same  as  Foltlaig  and  Fodla. 
Cathach  is  omitted  in  L'.  in  the  list  of  the 
sons  of  Cruithne  given  above,  p.  51,  and 

X   2 


Guidedh 

also  in  the  Chronicori  Pictorum,  Innes, 
vol.  ii.  p.  773,  App.  No.  ii.,  and  Pinkerton, 
vol.  i.  App.  Nos.  x.  xi.  But  his  name  oc- 
curs in  the  verses  attributed  to  Columkille, 
which  immediately  follow  in  this  place  in 
B.,  and  are  the  same  as  those  given  above, 
p. 5 1,  where  cecach  was  understood  to  sig- 
nify an  hundred.  The  verses  might  be  ren- 
dered, 

Cait,  Ce,  Cireach,  Otach  of  children  [i.  e.  tin- 
fruitful], 
Fib,  Fidach,  Fodlii  of  Fortrenn. 

or  else, 

Caitce,  Cireach,  Cetarh  of  children, 
Fib,  Fidach,  Foclla.  Knrtren. 

These  seven  fabulous  brothers  are  symbo- 
lical of  seven  real  territorial  divisions. 
See  above,  p.  51 — (T.) 


5aectl  bpeacnach  .1.  a.  p. 

^eapcuipcibonc  .....  &?.  ano  uao,  -\  bpuige  ba  h-airim  Do 
jac  aen  peap;  -]  penauepunc  hibepnmm  -|  dlboniam  pep  .cl.  an. 
uic  inuenicup  i  leabpaib  na  Cpuichneach. 

bpuioe  panre  amm  in  ceo  bpuioe. 

bpuioe  Uppance. 

bpui£;e  Leo. 


bpuioe 
bpuije 
bpuioe  Upgainc. 
bpui^i  pec. 
bpuioe  Ujipejnp. 


bpuiji 
bpuigi 
bpuiji 


Cctl. 

Upcal. 

Cine. 

Gpcinc. 

pec. 

Uppec. 

Ru. 
bpuiji  Gpu. 
bpuijji  ^apc. 
bpuiji  Cinic. 

u  Geascuirtibont.  —  There  is  evidently 
some  omission  or  confusion  here.  The 
Chronicon  Pictorum  divides  Geascuirti- 
bont into  two,  Gestgurtich  and  Brude- 
bout,  inserting  between  them  Wurgest. 
The  words  are:  "  Gestgurtich.  xl.  Wur- 
gest, xxx.  [Innes  reads  xl.]  Brudebout 
(a  quo  xxx.  Brude  regnaverunt  Hiber- 


bpuiji 

mam  et  Albanian!,  per  centum  1.  anno- 
ruin  spatium)  xlviij.  minis  regnavit." 
— Pinkerton,  vol.  i.  p.  492.  We  ought, 
therefore,  to  read,  in  all  probability, 
"  Geasguirti  xxx.  Bout.  xxx.  —  There 
were  thirty  of  them  afterwards,  and 
Bruide  was  the  name,  &c."  If  we  count 
Bout  as  one  of  those  who  were  called 


'57 


Guidedh  Gaeth,  a  Briton,  1.  annis  regnavit. 

Geascuirtibont"  ....  xxx.  of  them  thenceforward,  and  Bruide* 
was  the  name  of  every  man  of  them,  et  regnaverunt  Hiberniam  et 
Alboniam  per  cl.  annos,  ut  invenitur  in  the  books  of  the  Cruithniaris : 

Bruide  Pante  was  the  name  of  the  first  Bruide. 

Bruide  Urpante, 

Bruide  Leo. 

Bruide  Gant. 

Bruide  Gund. 

Bruide  Urgann. 

Bruide  Urgaint. 

Bruide  Fet. 

Bruide  Urfexir. 

Bruide  Feoir. 

Bruide  Cal. 

Bruide  Urcal. 

Bruide  Cint. 

Bruide  Arcint. 

Bruide  Fet. 

Bruide  Urfet. 

Bruide  Ru. 

Bruide  Eru. 

Bruide  Gart. 

Bruide  Cinit. 


Bruide,  there  will  be  thirty-two  in  all, 
or,  omitting  him,  thirty-one.  The  Chro- 
nicon  Pictorum  names  only  twenty-eight 
(exclusive  of  Bruide  Bout),  giving  in  re- 
gular order  a  name,  and  then  the  same 
name  with  ur  [which  is  perhaps  the  Gaelic 
tap,  after]  prefixed :  Pant,  Urpant ;  Leo, 
Urleo;  Gant,  Urgant,  &c. — (T.) 


Bruide 

*  Bndde. — It  will  be  observed  that  in 
many  places  the  Irish  transcriber  has 
written  this  word  6pu  ije  with  y  instead 
of  d,  a  circumstance  of  no  importance, 
further  than  that  it  proves  the  (/  to  have 
been  aspirated  in  the  pronunciation.  Uni- 
formity has  been  preserved  in  the  trans- 
lation.— (T.) 


'58 


Cino. 

Uip. 

Uipup. 


Upjjpich. 
bpuiji  TTlunaic. 
Up. 


Cpin. 

bpmgi  Upcpirt. 

bpmje  Uprnain. 

pegnauepunc.  cl.  ann.  uc  oipcimmup,  -]  po  bai  Ctlba  cen  pig  ppio  pe 
uile  co  h-aimpp  5nt)'  cec  I11?)  Tn  S0'-"'  C^bnm  mle  cpi  comaipli  no 
np  eigin. 

XXXII.  Qcbepair  apaile  comau  h-e  Cacluan  mac  Cairmmj 
no  jabao  pije  ap  eigm  i  CpuicheannmicVi  ~\  d  n-Gipinn  .1.  l;r.  blia- 
t)ain,  ~)  mpfin  po  gab  <5ut>  .1.  I. 

Uapam  .c.  an.  pegnauic. 

TTlopleo  a.  .;cu.  a.  pe. 

Deocillimon  .;rl.  an  pejnainr. 

Cmioioo  mac  Qiprcoip  .uu.  a.  p. 

Oeopc  .1.  a.  p. 

6lieblir  .u.  a.  p. 

Deococpeic  ppacep  dn  .jcl.  a.  p. 

Upconbepc  .jc^.  a.  p. 

Cpucbolc  .un.  a.  p. 

Oeopoiuoip 

y  Gud  __  The  statement  that  Albany  had  Cathluan  sixty  years,  and  Gud  fifty  years, 

no  king  till  Gut,  and  the  mention  of  Gut  it  gives  Gilgidi  101  years.  In  the  list  here 

(unless  he  be  the  same  as  Gilgidi),  are  given  Usconbest's  reign  is  reduced  from 

absent  from  the  Pict.  Chron.     In  lieu  of  thirty   to  twenty,    and  that  of  Crutbolc 


'59 

Bruide  Cind. 

Bruide  Uip 

Bruide  Uirup. 

Bruide  Gruith. 

Bruide  Urgrith. 

Bruide  Munait. 

Bruide  Ur. 

Bruide  Gidgie. 

Bruide  Crin. 

Bruide  Urcrin. 

Bruide  Urmain. 

regnaverunt  cl.  arm.  ut  diximus ;  and  Alba  was  without  a  king  all 
along  until  the  time  of  Gudy,  the  first  king  that  possessed  all  Alba 
by  consent  or  by  force. 

XXXII.  Others  say2  that  it  was  Cathluan,  son  of  Caitming,  who 
first  possessed  the  sovereignty  by  force  in  Cruitheutuath  and  in  Eri, 
for  sixty  years,  and  that  after  him  succeeded  Gud  for  fifty  years. 

Taram  c.  annis  regnavit. 

Morleo  xv.  annis  regnavit. 

Deocillimon  xl.  annis  regnavit. 

Cinioiod,  son  of  Artcois,  vii.  annis  regnavit. 

Deort  1.  annis  regnavit. 

Blieblith  v.  annis  regnavit. 

Deototreic  frater  Tui  xl.  annis  regnavit, 

Usconbest  xx.  annis  regnavit, 

Crutbolc  vii.  annis  regnavit. 

Deordivois 

(Belga  Pictus)   interpolated.      In    other  from   the   same  source  as  that  given  by 

respects  it  agrees  very  nearly  with  the  Fordun  (Scotichron.   iv.   c.   11.),   except 

Chron. — (H.)  that  he  begins    with    Cruythne,    son    of 

'  Others  say — The  second  list  of  kings  Kynne,  instead  of  Cathluan,  ^on  of  Cait- 

which  begins  here  appears  to  have  come  ming — (T.) 


i6o 


Oeopoiuoip  .£?:.  a.  pejn. 

Uipc  .1.  annop  p. 

l?u  .c.  an.  p. 

^aprnaic  .1111.  ijc.  a.  ]ie. 

6pec  mac  buicheo  .un.  a.  p. 

Uipo  ignauic  .^f. 

Canarulacma  .111.  annip  p. 

Upaoach  uecla  .11.  a.  p. 

^apcnair  ouipeip  Apr.  a.  p. 

Colopc  mac  Qirlnuip  Apr;rii. 

Dpupc  mac  Gpp  .c.  pegnauir,  -j  .c.  cara  po  jem.  Nonooeamo 
anno  pei^ni  eiup  pacpiciup  panccup  epipcopup  ao  hibepn;am  pep- 
uemr. 

Uolopc  mac  Qmel  .1111.  a.  p. 

Neccan  mop  bpeac  mac  Gipip  .pr^prnji.  a.  p.  Uepcio  anno 

pejm 


a  Gartnait.—TA.  Van  Praet's  attested 
copy  of  the  Chronicon  Pictorurn,  pub- 
lished by  Pinkcrton,  gives  this  passage 
thus: 

"  gartn&ithloc  a  quo  j.,partiiait  .iiii. 

rejoin,  vcre  ix.  a.  n/y." 
Wliicli  I\[r.  Pinkerton  interprets  thus  : 

"  '-'0.  (iartiifiith  loc,  a  quo  ftartnait,  iiij.  rcgna. 
30.  Vcre  ix.  an.  Kg." 

Tims  making  vere  the  name  of  a  king, 
limes  reads  Gartnaithboc,  and  likewise 
makes  Vere  the  thirtieth  king.  But  are 
not  the  words  "  vere  ix.  an.  reg."  an  evi- 
dent correction  of  "  iiii.  regnavit,"  inti- 
mating that  the  real  length  of  Gartnaith- 
loc's  reign  was  nine,  not  four  years?  The 
Irish  transcriber  evidently  intended  to 


adopt  this  correction,  but  in  doing  so 
retained  the  iiii.,  expunging  the  other 
words.  Fordun  (iv.  c.  n)  has  "  Gnrnath- 
bolger  annis  ix."  The  reign  of  Canatu- 
lacma  appears  to  be  fixed  nt  three,  but 
may  be  four  years,  as  in  the  Chron.  Pic- 
torum,  for  in. and  in.  are  easily  confounded, 
and  in  this  case  it  is  not  quite  certain 
which  was  intended  by  the  scribe.  Ura- 
dach-vetla  is  assigned  two  years,  which 
agrees  with  Innes,  but  differs  from  M. 
Van  Praet's  copy,  in  Pinkerton,  which 
has  iv.— ('/'.) 

^'Gartnait-duipeir. — Fordun  has Garnard 
J)ives,  from  which  we  may  presume  that 
duipeir  signified  rich.  Perhaps  the  d  is 
an  expletive  derived  from  the  final  t  or  d 


Deordivois  xx.  annis  regnavit. 

Uist  1.  annis  regnavit. 

Ru  c.  annis  regnavit. 

Gartnait"  iiii.  ix.  annis  regnavit. 

Breth,  son  of  Buithed,  vii.  annis  regnavit. 

Uipo-ignavit  xxx. 

Canatulacma  iii.  annis  regnavit. 

Uradach-vetla  ii.  annis  regnavit. 

Gartnait-duipeir"  Ix.  annis  regnavit. 

Tolorc,  son  of  Aithiur,  Ixxv. 

Drust.  son  of  Erp,  c.  annis  regnavit,  and  gained0  a  hundred  battles. 
Nonodecimo  anno  regni  eius  Patricius  sanctus  episcopus  ad  Hiber- 
niam  pervenit. 

Tolorc,  son  of  Aniel,  iiii.  annis  regnavit. 

Nectan-mor-breac",  son  of  Eirip,  xxxiiii.  annis  regnavit.  Tertio 

anno 


of  Garnard  or  Garnait,  and  if  so,  itipeir  is 
not  far  from  the  Irish  pmbb'ip,  rich  (the 
initial  p  aspirated),  which  is  pronounced 
very  nearly  as  uipliir. — (T.) 

c  Gained. — -The  Latin  has  "  c.  bella 
peregit :"  po  jein  signifies  properly, 
wounded,  killed,  and  hence,  won.  gained, 
when  applied  to  battles — (T.) 

d  Mor-breac,  for  Morbet  [as  in  Pict. 
Chron.]  bene.  The  statements  which  fol- 
low are  false  and  out  of  chronology.  Pict- 
land  and  Abernethy  were  not  then  Chris- 
tian, nor  was  St.  Bridget  yet  born,  nor 
was  Darluchdach  yet  abbess  of  Kildare. 
Very  long  after  the  death  of  both  these 
ladies,  and  about  608,  Nectan  II.  founded 


St.  Darluchdach  was  the  immediate  suc- 
cessor of  St.  Bridget,  as  abbess  of  Kildare, 
and  died  on  the  anniversary  of  St.  Brid- 
get's death,  having  survived  her  but  one 
year.  Colgan.  Vit.  S.  Darlugdaclue  ad  i 
Feb.  There  are  different  dates  assigned  for 
St.  Bridget's  death,  varying  from  510  to 
548  Colgan  has  decided  in  favour  of  the 
year  523 — Trias.  Th.  p.  619.  Fordun  (iv. 
c.  1 1)  gives  the  series  after  Garnaitduiper 
thus:  Hurgust,  son  of  Fergus,  twenty- 
seven  years;  Thalargen,  son  of  Keother, 
twenty-five.  Durst  "  qui  alias  vocabatur 
Nectane  films  Irbii  annis  xlv.  Hie,  nt.  asse- 
ritur, 

'  Centum  annis  vixit  et  centum  liolla  pcrpjrit.' 


the  church   of  Abernethy Register    of     Quo  regnante  sanctus  Palladius  [not  Pit- 

St.  Andr.  cit.  Pink.  i.  296;  ii.  267 (//.)     tricius]    episcopus   a  beato   Papa  Cccles- 

IRISH  ARCH.  SOC.   l6.  Y 


l62 


pepn  emp  Oaplugoach  abbanpca  Cille  oapa  oe  Qbepniam  ajcu- 
lac  p.  ;cpd  ao  bpinmam  pp'  anno  aouenicup  cui  immolaueir  Nec- 
connmp  armo  mm  Ctpuipnige  Oeo  -\  panccane  bpijprea  ppepence 
DapluigDeacli  que  cancauic  all.  pupep  ipcam. 

Oapcguicimor  .pjcj:.  a.  peg. 

J5alamapbicli  .;ru.  a.  peg. 

Da  Opeppc  .1.  Opepc  pi.  b.uopop  .;ru.  annip  peg  ticuc.  Oeppc 
pi.  ^)ipum  polup  .u.  a.  p. 

J5aluTYi  cenamlapeli  .1111.  a.  p. 

<5apcnair  pi.  ^ipom  .un.  a.  p. 

Cailcaine  pi.  ^iporn  anno  p. 

Calopg  p.  TTluprolic  .^i.  a.  p. 

Opepc  pi.  TTlanaic  uno  a.  p.     Cum  6pioeno  .1.  anno. 

bpuioe  mac  TTlaelcon  .^^.  a.  p.  ITlochcaauuo  anno  pejm  eic 
hnibnjacup  epr.  Gpancro  Columba. 


tino  missus  est  ad  Scotos  docendos,  longe 
tamen  ante  in  Christo  credentes."  Thim 
follow  Talargar,  son  of  Amylc,  two  years; 
Noctane  Thaltamoth,  ten  years.  In  the 
next  chapter  he  ascribes  the  foundation  of 
Abernethy  to  St.  Bridget  and  her  seven 
virgins,  but  places  it  in  the  reigi-  of 
Garnard  Makdompnach,  the  successor  of 
the  Bruide  in  whose  time  St.  Columba 
preached  to  the  Picts ;  which  is  of  course 
more  probable.  Pinkerton  and  Innes  are 
both  mistaken  in  their  reading  of  the 
Chron.  Pict.  in  this  passage,  which  is  not 
"  abbatissa  cilia;  Daradre,  Ilibernia  exulat 
proximo  ad  Britanniam,"  but  "abbatissa 
Cille-dara  de  Ilibernia  exulat  pro  Christo 
ad  Britanniam,"  as  may  be  seen  by  their 
own  edition  of  M.  Van  Praet's  attested 


copy.  What  the  contracted  word  ppi 
stands  for  in  the  text  I  do  not  know. 
The  Chron.  Pict.  reads  "secundo." — (?'.) 
c  Two  Drentft — If  I  am  right  in  consi- 
dering tkiopeprr  [read  chiopepc]  as  two 
words,  and  translating  "  two  Drests," 
the  Irish  version  has  enabled  us  to  cor- 
rect a  mistake  which  Innes  and  Pinkerton 
have  both  committed  in  their  interpreta- 
tion of  this  passage  of  the  Chron.  Picto- 
rum,  which  stands  thus  in  M.  Van  Praet's 
attested  copy: 

dadrest  .i.  drest  (Hi9 

gyrum  .i.  drest  tili9  wdrost  .v. 

ail  gregfi.  Urest  fill9  ^irom  s<jly. 
v.  au  rcg. 

From   this  Innes  and  Pinkerton  have 
given  us  three  kings,  viz.:  i.  Dadrest,  who 


l63 


anno  regni  ejus  Darlugdach,  abbatissa  Cille-Dara  de  Hibernia  exu- 
lat  pro  Christo  ad  Britiniam;  [secundo?]  anno  adventus  sui  immola- 
vit  Nectonius  anno  uno  Apurnighe  Deo  et  sanctte  Brigidje,  praesente 
Darlugdach,  quas  cantavit  alleluia  super  istam  [hostiam]. 

Dartguitimoth  xxx.  annis  regnavit.. 

Galamarbith  xv.  annis  regnavit. 

Two  Drestse,  i.  e.  Drest,  fil.  Budros,  xv.  annis  regnaverunt  com- 
inuniter.     Drest,  fil.  Girum,  solus  v.  annis  regnavit. 

Galum-cenamlapeh  iiii.  annis  regnavit, 

Gartnait,  fil.  Girom,  vii.  annis  regnavit. 

Cailtaine,  fil.  Girom,  anno  regnavit. 

Talorg,  fil.  Murtolic,  xi.  annis  regnavit. 

Drest.  fil.  Manaith,  uno  anno  regnavit.     Cum  Brideno*  i.  anno. 

Bruide  Mac  Maelcon  xxx.  annis  regnavit.  In  octavog  anno  regni 
ejus  baptizatus  est  a  sancto  Columba. 

Gartnait, 


reigned  one  year;  2.  Drest,  son  of  Girom, 
and  3.  Drest,  son  of  Udrost.  Drest,  son 
of  Girom,  they  make  to  have  reigned  one 
year  alone,  five  years  jointly  with  Drest, 
son  of  Udrost,  and  then  five  years  alone. 
I  have  very  little  doubt,  however,  that 
Dadrest,  should  be  read  Da  Drest,  which 
words  signify  Duo  Drest.  If  this  con- 
jecture be  correct  it  will  prove  that  the 
Chron.  Pictorum  was  translated  from  a 
Gaelic  original,  more  ancient  than  our 
present  Irish  transcript,  which  appears 
from  the  mistakes  with  which  it  abounds, 
to  have  been  taken  from  a  Latin  copy.  I 
would  propose  to  read  the  passage  thus : 
"Duo  Drest,  i.e.  Drest  filius  Girom  et 
[for  the  .i.  here  either  signifies  "  i.  e."  or 
is  a  mistake  for  et]  Drest  filius  Wdrost 


v.  annos  coureguaverunt.  Drest  filius 
Girom  solus  v.  annos  regnavit,"  Thus 
the  Irish  and  Latin  will  agree,  except  in 
the  length  of  the  joint  reign,  which  tin- 
Irish  transcriber  makes  to  be  fifteen  years. 
It  is  some  confirmation  of  the  emenda- 
tion here  proposed,  that  of  the  five  lists  of 
Pictish  kings  quoted  by  Pinkerton,  vol.  i. 
p.  242,  and  tables  at  the  end  of  vol.  i.,  Dad- 
rest  appears  only  on  the  authority  of  the 
Chron.  Pictorum,  as  he  and  Innes  have  un- 
derstood it.  The  contraction  ucuc  is  pro- 
bably intended  for  "  communiter." — (T.) 

1  Cum  Brideno. — Galumcenarnlapeh   in 
the  Chron.  Pictorum  is  placed  after  Drest, 
son  of  Munait,  and  the  words  "  cum  Bri- 
deno i.  anno,"  apply  to  him — (T.) 

2  In  octavo The  transcriber  has  here 

2 


164 

p.  Oomnach  .p.  a.  p. 
Neachuan  nepo.  Uepp  .pp.  a.  p. 
Cmhoinc  p.  Lmcpiu  .p^p.  a.  p. 
^apcriaic  mac  Uiuo  .u.  a.  p. 
Uolopc  ppacep  eopum  ouooeicim  a.  p. 
Colopccm  p.  Gnppec  .1111. 

^apcnaipc  p.  Oomiel  .ui.  a.  p.  -]  rjeimiomm  anm. 
Opupc  ppacep  eiup  .un.  a.  p. 
bpioe  p.  pie  .pp.  a.  p. 
Uapan  p.  6n  pioaiu  .1111. 
bpei  p.  Oeipilei  .;n.  a.  p. 
Necbcan  p.  Oeipile  .p.  a.  p. 
Opepc  ~\  Glpen  conneganaueinc  .u.  a.  p. 
Onbep  p.  Upgupc  .p^p.  a.  p. 
bpeice  p.  Uujuc  .^u.  a.  p. 
Cimoo  p.  luupeoeg  .^u.  a.  p. 

Ctlpin  p.  Uuoio  .111.  annip  pejnauic  "|  onniuon  pe^n'. 
Dpepr  p.  Ualopcan  .1.  a.  p. 
Ualopcan  p.  Dpopcan  [n]  uel  .u.  riej;. 
Ualopcen  p.  Onupc  .jcn.  ~\  ttiiniitoin  a.  p 
Canul  p.  Uang  .u.  a.  p. 
Cuapcannn  p.  Uupguipc   r^u. 

Uioriupr 

mado  sad  work,  but  the  text  is  printed  Gartnait  mac  Uiud  or  Wid,  and  this  To- 

without   correction.     He  mistook  in  for  lore ;  and  that  the  omission  was  a  mistake 

m,   and   by  confounding   the  uo  of  oc-  of  the   Irish  transcriber  is  evident  from 

tuuo  with  the  no  of  anno,  he  has  pro-  the  word  eorum. — (T.) 

duced  the  compound  TTloccaauuo  unno,  '  Conregnaverunt The      scribe      has 

which  the  Chron.  Pictorum  enables  us  to  strangely  blundered   this    word  :  he  has 

decipher — (T.)  also  written  a.  p.  at  the  end,  where  the 

h  Tolorc — -The  Chron.  Pictorum  inserts      p  is  redundant (T.) 

"  Breidei  fil.  Wid  v.  an.  reg."  between          k  Dimidium The  word  pejni  added  in 


Gartnait,  fil.  Domnach,  xi.  annis  rcgnavit. 

Neachtain  nepos  Verp.  xx.  annis  regnavit. 

Cinhoint,  fil.  Lutriu,  xix.  annis  regnavit. 

Gartnait,  mac  Uiud,  v.  annis  regnavit. 

Tolorc"  frater  eorum  duodecim  annis  regnavit. 

Tolorcan,  fil.  Enfret,  iiii. 

Gartnairt,  fil.  Donuel,  vi.  annis  regnavit  et  diinidium  anni. 

Druse  frater  ejus  vii.  annis  regnavit. 

Bride,  fil.  Fie,  xx.  annos  regnavit. 

Taran,  fil.  En-fidaid,  iiii. 

Brei,  fil.  Derilei,  xi.  annis  regnavit. 

Nechtan,  fil.  Derilei,  x.  annis  regnavit. 

Drest  et  Elpen  conregnaverunt'  v.  annis. 

Onbes,  fil.  Urgurt,  xxx.  annis  regnavit. 

Breite,  fil.  Uugut,  xv.  annis  regnavit. 

Cinoid,  fil.  Juuredeg,  xv.  annis  regnavit. 

Alpin,  fil.  Uuoid,  iii.  annis  regnavit  et  diimdiumk  anni. 

Drest,  fil.  Talorcan,  i.  anno  regnavit. 

Talorcan1,  fil.  Drostan,  [v.]  vel  xv. 

Talorcen,  fil.  Onust,  xii.  et  dimidium  annis  regnavit. 

Canulm,  fil.  Tang.  v.  annis  regnavit. 

Cuastantin,  fil.  Uurguist,  xxxv. 

Uidnust, 

the  text  is  an  evident  mistake  for  anni;  m  Canul. — This  king  is  called  fil.  Tarla 

Dimioon  is  of  course  a  blunder  for  oimi-  in  theChron.  Pict.  The  narneol'his  father 

Dium. — (T.)  is  given  above  Canj,  with  a  mark  of  con- 

1  Talorcan. — This  king  is  omitted  in  the  traction,  which  has   been  retained,  as    I 

Chron.  Pictorum,  but  he  is  given  by  For-  know  not  how  to  write  the  word  in  full, 

dun.     The  Irish  text  is  corrected  from  It  may  be  Tangar  or  Tangad.      Lynch 

Lynch's  copy,  Cambrensis  Eversus,  p.  94.  gives  it  "  Canul  fil.  Tang,"  without  no- 

The  scribe  omitted    u   before    uel,   and  ticing  the  contraction. — Cambr.  Eversus, 

wrote  .u.oej  for  xv — (T.)  ib — (T.) 


1 66 

Uionupc  p.  Uupguyc  .;cii.  an.  p. 

Opopc  p.  Conpann  i  Uolopc  p.  Uuchoil  .in.  a.  p.  conpejnaue- 
punc. 

Unen  p.  Unepc  .in. 

Upao  p.  bapjoic  .111.  a.  -|  6pot>  .1  .  a.  p. 

Cinaeo  p.  Qilpm  .;cui.  a.  p. 

Oomnall  p.  Qilpin  .1111.  p.  i  Cupcancan  p.  Cmaeoa  .pp.  a.  p. 

Cteo  p.  Cinaeo  .1°.  a.  p. 

<5ipi5  mac  Oungaile  .jci.  uel  .111.  a.  p. 

Domnall  p.  Conpancin  .jci.  a.  p. 

Conpcancin  p.  Qeo  .;rlu.  a.  p. 

TTIaelcolaim  p.  Oomnaill  .ijc.  a.  p. 

Cuilem  p.  llooilb  p.  Conpcanocm  .1111.  a.  p. 

Cinaeo,  uel  Oub,  p.  TTlailcolaim  .1111.  a.  p. 

Cuilem  .1.  Oimibom  p. 

CinaeD  p.  Ouib.  oclir  a.  p. 

niaelcolaim  mac  Cinaeoa  -FFF-  a.  pej. 

Donocao  ua  TTIailcolaim  .un.  p. 

TTIacbeachao  mac  pin  mic  Laig  .;rui.  a.  p. 

Lulach  .u.  mip. 

TTlaetcolaim  mac  Colaim  mic  OonncaiO  lap  pin. 

XXXIII. 

n  Jlargot.  —  In   the  Cliron.   Pictorum,  press.  The  Chron.  Pictoruin  gives  Eocho- 

"  Wrad  filius  Bargoit,"  where  the  Gaelic  dius  filius  Ku,  as  the  successor  of  Aedh 

genitive  Bargo^    is    another  proof  that  fil.  Cinaed,  instead  of  Girig  mac  Dungaile; 

this  document  was  copied  from  an  Irish  but  adds  "  Licet   Ciricium  fil.  [Dungaile 

original. — (T.)  is  probably  omitted]  alii  dicunt  hie  reg- 

0  Constantin,  fil.  Aedh. — The  list  given  nasse,    eo    cpaod   alumpuus   ordinatorque 

by  Lynch  (Cambrensis  Evers.  p.  94)  omits  Eochodio  fiebat."     Innes,  vol.  ii.  p.  785. 

the  three  kings  between  this  Constantin  Pinkerton,  vol.  i.  p.  495. — (T.) 

and  Domhnall  fitz  Alpin,  which  is  proba-  p  Cuilein,  fil.  Ildoilb,  i.  e.  son  of  Ildulf ; 

hly  a  mistake  of  his  transcript,  or  of  the  instead  of  whom  the  Chron.  Pict.  makes 


i67 

Uidnust,  fil.  Uurgust,  xii.  annis  regnavit. 

Drost,  fil.  Constatin,  et  Tolorc,  fil.  Uuthoil,  iii.  arinis  conregnave- 
runt. 

Unen,  fil.  Unest,  iii. 

Urad,  fil.  Bargot",  iii.  annis  [regnavit],  et  Brod.  i.  anno  regnavit. 

Cinaed,  fil.  Alpin,  xvi.  annis  regnavit. 

Domhnal,  fil.  Alpin,  iiii.  [annis]  regnavit,  et  Custantan  fil.  Cinaeda 
xx.  annis  regnavit. 

Aedh,  fil.  Cinaed,  i".  anno  regnavit. 

Girig  mac  Dungaile  xi.  vel.  iii.  annis  regnavit. 

Domhnall,  fil.  Coristantini,  xi.  annis  regnavit. 

Constantin,  fil.  Aedh0,  xlv.  annis  regnavit. 

Maelcolaim,  fil.  Domhnall,  ix.  annis  regnavit. 

Cuilein,  fil.  Ildoilbp,  fil.  Constantini,  iiii.  annis  regnavit. 

Cinaed,  vel  Dubhq,  fil.  Mailcolaim,  vii.  annis  regnavit. 

Cuileinr  i.  [et]  dimidio  [anni]  regnavit. 

Cinead,  fil.  Dubh,  viii.  annis  regnavit. 

Maelcolaim  Mac  Cinaeda  xxx.  annis  regnavit. 

Donnchad  Ua  Mailcolaim  vii.  [annis]  regnavit. 

Macbeathad  Mac  Fin  Mic  Laig  xvi.  annis  regnavit 

Lulach  v.  months. 

Maelcolaim  Mac  Colaim  Mic  Donnchaid  after  him. 

XXXIII. 

Indulphus  himself  the  successor  of  Mai-  r  Cuilein. — This  king  is  called  Cuilen- 

colm.     See  also  Ogygia,  p.  486 — (T.)  Eig  in  the  Chron.  Pict.  (ap.  Innes)  Culeri 

''  Vel  Dubh. —  The  words  uel  oub  are  King  (ap.  Pinkerton),  with  a  reign  of  five 

written  over  the  name  Cmeao  by  a  later  years.     Lynch  calls  him  "  Constantin  fil. 

hand.     This  is  evidently  the  same  king  Culen  uno  et  dimidio  anno."     In  the  No- 

who  is  called  Niger,  fil.  Maelcolaim,  in  the  mina   Eegum   Pictorum  (Innes,    vol.    ii. 

Pictish   Chronicle,  with  a  reign  of  five  p.  802)  he  is  called  Culin  Mac  Indutf,  and 

years.     Lynch's  list  assigns  to  this  king  a  a  reign  of  four  years  and  a  half  is  assigned 

reign  of  24  years — (T.)  to  him.— (T.) 


i68 


XXXIII.  bpinnm  inpola  occiani  cm  pionoam  Olhnan  nocpac, 
ochr.  c.  in.  ceimenn  ina  pao  .cc.  ina  leichean,  ma  cimceal.l  imoppo 
.i.u.m.  un.  mojar  po  h-ochc  ceafpaca.  Ochr  cafpaca  .;r;r.ic 
inon,  i  .u.  bepla,  .1.  Sa;rain  bepla,  -]  bepla  bpeacan,  i  bepla  Cpuic- 
neac,  -]  ^aeoelj,  1  Laioean. 

Qnno  .jcl.  anre  naciuicacem  Chpipn  .1.  ceaepaca  bliaoan  pia 
n-gein  Cpipc,  canig  <5a^uP  [1T1]  inT  bpeacan  co  papjaib  a  lonja 
1  a  ploig  in  ceo  peaclic,  ~|  co  papgaib  Labianup  cpibpp  pucpom 
pooeoig  jialla  inopi  bpeacan. 

Cluiop  Ceiypip  in  ceachpamao  pig  lap  n-luil  carng  a  n-inip 
bpearan  co  Vi-inip  Ope. 

Qb  incapnoacione  Domini  clui.  TTlapcup  Qnronup  cona  bpa- 
chaip  .1.  Cuicmo  Ctupilio  COTDHIOOO  cpeinim  imp  bpeacan. 

Qib  incapnaciome  Domini  .cl^^.ip:.  Seuepup  Qppep  'Cpipolo- 
ranup  ram^  a  n-inip  bpeacan.  Lei  pip  ainm  na  carpac  ip  in  Qppaic, 

in 


8  Britinia.—  This  scrap  of  Latin,  strange- 
ly perverted  by  the  ignorance  of  the  scribe, 
is  taken  from  the  opening  sentence  of  Bede's 
history :  nocpac  I  suppose  to  be  an  igno- 
rant corruption  of  the  contraction  no. 
epuc,  and  1  have  rendered  it  accordingly. 
Bede's  words  are:  "  Brittani  oceani  in- 
sula,  cui  quondam  Albion  nomen  fuit, 

&c qua;  per  inillia  passuuni 

octingenta  in  borcam  longa,  latitudinis 
liabet  millia  ducenta,  exceptis  dumtaxat 
prolixioribus  diversorum  promontoriorum 
tractibus,  quibus  efficitur  ut  circuitus 
ejus  quadragies  octies  septuaginta  (juin- 
que  millia  compleat."  See  above,  sect.  ii. 
p.  27,  where  the  same  statement  nearly 
occurs (7'.) 


'  Eight  times  forty. — An  attempt  to  ren- 
der literally  Bede's  "quadragies  octies  sep- 
tuaginta quinque  millia."  What  follows 
about  the  five  languages  is  also  founded 
on  a  passage  in  Bede,  lib.  i.  c.  i (T.) 

u  Gti/it-s,  a  corruption  of  Julius,  i.  c. 
Julius  Cwsar.  See  above,  p.  59. — (T.) 

v  The  tribune. — The  word  cpibJTpis  evi- 
dently for  cpibnp,  i.  e.  cpibtmur-.  See 
Bede  Hist.  lib.  i.e.  z.  "  Csusaris  equitatu 
primo  oongressu  a  Brittannis  victus,  ibi- 
que  Labienus  occisus  est." — (T.) 

w  Ciui(b  Ceissir,  i.  e.  Claudius  Ca>sar. 
He  is  called  fourth  king  or  emperor  after 
Julius,  evidently  from  Bede's  words  : 
"Claudius  imperator,  ab  Aueusto  quar- 
tus." — o.  3.  See  above,  p.  63.  In  the  MS. 


169 

XXXIII.  Britinia8  insola,  oceani  cui  quondam  Olbiian  nomen  erat, 
is  eight  hundred  thousand  paces  in  length,  two  hundred  thousand 
in  breadth,  and  in  circumference  five  thousand  seventy  and  eight  times 
forty1.  There  are  in  it  eight  score  cities,  and  five  languages,  viz.  the 
Saxon  language,  and  the  British  language,  and  the  Cruithnian  lan- 
guage, and  Gaelic,  and  Latin. 

Anno  xlm°-  ante  nativitatem  Christi,  i  e.  forty  years  before  the 
birth  of  Christ,  came  Galus"  into  the  island  of  Britain  ;  he  lost 
his  ships  and  his  army  on  his  first  expedition,  and  he  lost  Labienus 
the  tribunev,  but  at  length  he  took  the  hostages  of  the  island  of 
Britain. 

Cluids  Ceissir™,  the  fourth  king  after  Juil,  came  into  the  island 
of  Britain  even  to  the  island  of  Ore. 

Ab  incarnatione  Domini  clvi.  Marcus  Antonus*  with  his  brother, 
i.  e.  Lucidus  Aurelius  Commodus,  devastated  the  island  of  Britain. 

Ab  incarnationey  Domini  clxxxix.  Severus  Afer  Tripolitanus 
came  into  the  island  of  Britain.  Leipis  was  the  name  of  the  city  in 
Africa  where  he  was  born  ;  he  was  the  seventeenth  king  after  Juil : 

it 

the  words  "  Ab  incarnatione  Domini,  clvi."  y  Ab  incarnatione — Here  again  in   the 

are  joined  to  the  preceding  paragraph,  as  MS.  the  date  is  erroneously  joined  to  the 

if  they  were  the  date   of  the  invasion  by  preceding  paragraph.    The  authority  here 

Claudius  ;  but  they  are  the  words  with  is  Bede,  i.  c.  5.  "Anno  ab  incarnatione  I)o- 

which  Bede's  fourth  chapter  begins,  and  mini  clxxxix.    Severus  genere  Afer,  Tri- 

evidently  belong  to  the  reign  of  Marcus  politanus,  ab  oppido  Lepti,  decimus  sep- 

Antoninus.  This  correction  has,  therefore,  timus  ab  Augusto  imperiuin  adeptus,  Ac. 

been  made  in  the  text. — (T.)  ....  Itaque  Severus  magnam  fossam,  fir- 

*Antonus. — Bead  Antoninus.  Bede  used      missimumque  vallum a  mari   ad 

no  word  equivalent  to  devastated.     Cpei-  mare  duxit;  ibique  apudEvoracum  oppi- 

6im  is  explained  in  the  Leabhar  Gabhala,  dum  morbo  obiit.     Eeliquit  duos   filios 

p.  37,  to  signify  the  breaking  down  or      Bassianum  et  Getam Bassianus, 

demolition  of  ancient  boundaries  or  fast-  Antonini  nomine  assumpto,  regno  potitus 

nesses.— (T.)  est."— (T.) 

IRISH  ARCH.  SOC.    1 6.  Z 


I70 

HI  jcmi.  jug  iap  n-luil;  if  oo  oo  ponao  clao  Sa;can  ;  aobach  a  caip 
Qbpog.  Da  mac  oca  bapianup  -\  ^eca.  ba  peipio  jio  gab  in  pigi, 
amm  DO  Qncon. 

Qb  incapnaciome  Domini  lap  n-lul  .cc.lpjrjr.ui.  Dioclipcan  in 
cpeap  pig  ap  cpichao  mp  n-luil,  -]  TTla^imm,  canig  in  n-inip  bpea- 
can. Ipna  h-aimpip  po  gab  Capaupiup  pigi  bpeacan  .1111.  m-bliaona 
conao  po  mapb  Gleccup,  co  po  gab  pioein  pigi,  cpi  m-bliaDan, 
conaD  po  mapb  Gpclipioocup,  -|  ba  pig  pioe  pe  .;r.  m-bliaoari. 
Dioclipcen  i  n-aipuep  in  Domain  ac  ingpeim  na  Cpipcaige,-]  TTlaip- 
cimen  ma  h-iaprap. 

Ip  in  injpim  peo  pop  ooman  Qlbain  naem  -]  Qpon  -|  lull  aipcin- 
oeach  carpach  teigonum  ap  an  ampip  pea  aobacn. 

Conpcanpc  pi  bpeacan  acliaip  Conpcancin  mic  6ilme  .1.  capac 
ban  ConpcannDin,  po  pcpib  Gocpobup  conaD  ann  po  gab  Con- 
prancin  piji  ap  cup  a  n-inip  bpeacan  ;  Daig  po  gab  a  n-achaip 
placiup  Ppanc  ~\  Gppaine  i  m-beachaiD  Oioclipcem. 

Ctb  mcapnanoine  .ccc.l^.in.  ^paOianup  cecpacba  pig  o  luil. 
Ip  na  h-aimpip  piDein  po  gab  apaile  TTla,rim  pigi  bpeacan. 

Ub 

'•Domini. — The  words  lap  n-lul  are  here  or  Erenach,  in  later  times,  was  applied 
an  evident  blunder,  and  are  therefore;  almost  always  to  an  ecclesiastical  officer, 
omitted  in  the  translation.  The  date,  as  although  not  always  one  in  holy  orders; 
before,  is  joined  in  the  MS.  to  the  preced-  but,  as  appears  from  this  passage,  it  pro- 
ing  paragraph.  Bede  is  the  authority,  perly  signified  any  chief,  superior,  or  per- 
il. 6;  and  see  above,  p.  65. — (T.)  son  in  authority.  In  the  Leabhar  Breac 

a  Albain — Bede,  ubi  supr.  c.  7.  The  (fol.  iii.  col.  i),  SS.  Peter  and  Paul  are 

City  Legionum  is  supposed  to  be  Caer-  called  the  airchinneachs  or  chiefs  of  the 

Icon,  the  ancient  Isca  Silurum,  on  the  Apostles:  ipiac  pin  oipchmni^na  n-app- 

river  Usk,  in  Monmouthshire.  Aaron  and  cal,  .1.  pecap  -|  pol.  And  again,  quoting 

Julius  are  here  called  chiefs  (apocmoeuc)  Eccl.  x.  1 6,  "  Vce  tibi  terra  cujus  rex  puer 

of  the  city,  although  Bede  calls  them  est,  et  cujusprincipesmauecomedunt,"&c. 

simply  "  cives."  The  word  ardcinneach  the  writer  adds:  Ipe  pocuinn  malctpcu 


171 

it  was  for  him  was  made  the  Saxon  ditch;  he  died  at  Caer  Abrog. 
He  had  two  sons,  Basianus  and  Geta.  It  was  he  (the  former)  that 
succeeded  to  the  kingdom  by  the  name  of  Anton. 

Ab  incarnatione  Dominiz  cclxxxiii.  Dioclistan,  the  thirty-third 
king  after  Juil,  and  Maximin,  came  into  the  island  of  Britain.  It  was 
in  their  time  that  Carausius  held  the  sovereignty  of  Britain  seven 
years,  until  Alectus  killed  him,  and  held  the  sovereignty  himself  for 
three  years,  until  Asclipidotus  killed  him,  and  became  king  himself 
for  ten  years.  Dioclistan,  in  the  east  of  the  world,  was  persecuting 
the  Christians,  and  Maiscimen  in  the  west. 

It  was  in  that  persecution  over  the  Avorld  that  Saint  Albain"— 
and  Aron,  and  Juil,  chiefs  of  the  city  Leigionum  at  that  time, — died. 

Constanst",  king  of  Britain,  was  the  father  of  Constantino,  son  of 
Eiline  (Helena),  the  concubine  of  Constantin.  Etrobus  wrote  that  it 
was  in  the  island  of  Britain  that  Constantin  took  sovereignty  at  first; 
for  his  father  had  exercised  dominion  over  France  and  Spain  in  the; 
life-time  of  Dioclistan. 

Ab  incarnatione  ccclxvi.c  Gradianus  was  the  fortieth  king  from 
Juil.  It  was  in  his  time  that  a  certain  Maxim  took  the  sovereignty 
of  Britain. 

Ab 

oonu  cuaraib'  -|  oona  cellaib  ica  mbic  MCI  eluding  the    reference    to    Eutropius,    is 

pi$  -|  na  aipcmoiji;  uccu  uilpi  DO  cpaep  -|  taken  from  Bede,  i.  c.  8.  At  the  word  bi;i£ 

oo  paebcnoechc  in  cpaejail:  "This  is  the  the  transcriber   of  the  MS.  began  a  new 

cause  of  the  destruction  of  the  districts  paragraph  with  a  large  capital  letter  orna- 

[i.  e.  chieftainries],  and  of  the  churches,  merited  with  colour,  as  if  beginning  a  new 

whose  kings  and  chiefs  \_airchinneachs]  are  subject  ;   such  was  his  ignorance — (T.) 
devoted  to  gluttony  and  worldly  intempe-         QAb  incarnatione  ccclxvi.-Read  ccclxxvii. 

ranee." — (T.)  as   in  Bede,  i.  c.  9.     This  date  is  affixed 

h  Constanst,  i.  e.  Constantius,  (or  Con-  in   the  MS.  to  the  preceding  paragraph, 

stantinus,  as  Bede  calls  him)  father  of  Con-  The  next  date   is  also  misplaced  in  the 

stantine   the  Great  ;  this  paragraph,  in-  same  way { 

Z2 


Clb  incapnacione  Domini  .cccc.jrc.ini.  Clpcacupi  pi£i  in  Domain  .1. 
Uoecaip  in  cpeap  pi£  cecpacha  lap  n-Clusupcup.  pilaaup  6pic  Do 
jabail  ipppi,  1  DO  cogail  na  Cnipcaioe. 

Qb  mcapnoarioine  .5.  cccc.ui.  Cerjii  bliaona  cecpacaD  pejpm 
oe  bliaonaib  o  h-Golaip  pig  na  n-^aedi  pijaD  ^paoian  copaio  a 
m-bpeacnaib,  i  mpoain  Conprannrm  mppin  pi  o  amain  incopa  ma 
aip  o  inopacup  conao  po  mapbConpacmupcomaep  cpe  [pjopconpa 
honopn.  Came  Conpranp  a  mac  a  mancainoe  po  gab  piji. 

Ro  bpip  cpa  T2oim  mpnain  in  milipmo  .c.  \y.  nn.  m-bliaoan  o  po 
cumcaiceao;  ip  e  pin  cpich  plachupa  Roman  pop  imp  bpeacan 
lap  .cccc.l^.  bliaoan,  o  pa  ^ab  n-luil  imp  6peacan,  pep  Dibaoap 
Pomanaig  imm  a  milrneach,  -\  nip  [pjapgaibpeac  ojbaio  no  aep 
ea^nainoce,  -)  pugpac  Romanaij,  -j  nip  legpeac  uaoaib  ecip. 

Ip  aipipin  Do  ponpac  ^aeoil  -[  Cpuichmg  no  Da  cineD  compoc- 
paib  ipen  bpuio  i  cpeir. 

Oo  cuap  o  bpearnaib  co  n-ebaipc  lib  co  Romancu  ap  Daij 
cobapra,  1  Dupuclir  milnec  calma  cuccu  Dap  in  n-mpi  puachr 

Cpurneac 

A  Arcatus,  i.   e.  Arcadius  :   for  .1.  Coe-  rendered  unintelligible  by  the  gross  igno- 

cdip  we  should  evidently  read  pil  or  me.  ranee  of  the  transcriber  ;   no   sense   am 

Ceocaip.     Bede,  ib.  c.  10. — (7'.)  be  made  of  it  without  extensive  conjectu- 

c  Forty-four  years. — For  5.  read  o.,  i.  e.  ral  emendations.  It  is  evidently  intended 
Domini.  This  is  all  confusion.  On  com-  to  represent  the  following  statement  of 
paring  it  with  Bede,  ib.  c.  1 1,  it  will  be  Bede,  "  IIujus  [scil.  Gratiani]  loco  Con- 
seen  that  the  transcriber  has  given  the  stantinus  ex  infima  militia,  propter  solam 
date  ccccvi.  instead  of  ccccvii.;  that  he  spem  nomiius,  sine  merito  virtutis,  eli- 
has  omitted  the  name  Honorius ;  and  has  gitur." — (T.) 

converted  Bede's  "  loco  ab  Augusto  qua-  f  Hume. — Tliis  paragraph   is   made  up 

dragesimo  quarto"  into  forty-four  years  ;  from    the  following  passages   of  Bede,  i. 

the  word    pejpn  is   unintelligible,    and  cc.  n,  12:   "  Fracta   est  autem   Eoma  a 

no  attempt  has  been  made  to  translate  it.  Gothis  anno  m.lx.iv.  sua?  conditionis,  ex 

Nor  has  any  attempt  been  made  to  translate  quo  tempore  Roman!  in  Britannia  regnare 

what  is  said  about  Constantine,  which  is  cessarunt,  post  annos  ferme  quadringentos 


'73 

Ab  incarnatione  Domini  ccccxciv.  Arcatusd  was  sovereign  of  the 
world  [son  of]  Toetas  [Theodoaius],  the  forty- third  king  after  Augus- 
tus. Pilacius  [Pelagius]  a  Briton,  adopted  heresy,  and  destroyed  the 
Christians. 

Ab  incarnatione  D.  ccccv.  Forty-four  years6 two  years 

before  Eolair  [Alaric],  King  of  the  Gaeth  [Goths'],  Gradian  the  cham- 
pion is  made  king  of  the  Britons  ;  and  then  Constantine,  afterwards 

until  Constantinus  Comes  killed  him  at  the 

command  of  Honorius.  Constans,  his  son,  came  from  being  a  monk, 
and  took  the  kingdom. 

Now  Romef  was  destroyed  afterwards  in  the  thousandth  one 
hundredth  and  lxiv.th  year  from  its  foundation.  That  was  the  end 
of  the  Roman  dominion  over  the  island  of  Britain,  after  cccclxx.  years 
from  the  time  when  Juil  took  the  island  of  Britain.  The  Romans 
extinguished  it  as  to  its  military  power,  and  there  were  left  in  it  no 
warriors  nor  men  of  learning,  and  the  Romans  carried  them  oiF,  and 
would  not  suffer  them  to  return. 

It  was  then  that  the  Gaedhels  and  the  Cruithnians,  two  border 
tribes,  took  captives  and  spoil. 

There  went  ambassadors  from  the  Britons  with  presents8  along 
with  them,  to  the  Romans,  to  seek  relief;  and  there  came  to  them  a 
valiant  army  across  the  island,  who  attacked  the  Cruithnians  and 

Gaedhels; 

septuaginta  ex  quo  Cains  Julius   Csesar  turn    patuit,  utpote    omnis    bellici    usus 

eandem  insulam  adiit." "  Exin  prorsus  ignara,  &c."     The  Irish  is  very 

Britannia  in  parte  Brittonum  omni  arma-  corrupt,  but  with  the  Latin  before  us  we 

to  milite,  militaribus  oopiis  universis,  tota  cannot  miss  its  meaning — ( T.) 

norida;  juventutis  alacritate,"  [this  seems  s  With   presents.  —  The   words    co    n- 

to  be  what  the  Irish  translator  has  sought  ebaipc  lib  ought  evidently  to  be  co  n- 

to  express  by  the  word  milcneach]  "  spo-  epipclib,  for  they  represent  Bede's   "le- 

liata,  qua?  tyrannorum  temeritate  abducta  gatos   Romam  cum  epistolis   mittentes," 

nusquam  ultra  domum  rediit,  prseda;  tan-  i.  c.  12 — (T.) 


'74 

Cpurrieac  -]  J5aeDe^u>  1  Do  cuaDap  Dia  015  lapDain.  PO  ceDoip 
ronj;aoap  namaio  -|  po  cumpeacap  bpeacam  amail  joprabaio. 

l?o  paioic  na  rechcaipe  Do  apip  -|  Do  pochc  lejon  DO  cobaip 
bpeacan,  -|  po  caifaijpeac  ppia  naiboib  bpeacan  i  po  h-acnaigic 
in  clao  leo  Do  pig  [leg.  pigne]  in  oala  Seuepup;  ba  DO  claoaib  in 
peer  pin  .1.  un.  cpaigce  na  leice  i  .^11.  ina  aipDe  o  minp  co  muip  ; 
a  poam  Da  puaip,  1  DaingniujiD  amail  na  cipoip  Dopip  Dia  cohaip 
-|  looap  ap. 

Oo  cualaoap  ^aeoil  -|  Cpuirhnij  amail  cona  alca  po  caipoib 
oo  cuaoap  pucib. 

Qb  incapnaicior.e  .cccc.  ff.  in.  Ueochap  mniop  popr  honopium 
in  cearhpamaD  pig  .^rl.  lap  n-Qujupcup. 

h  Mowed  down Bede's  words  arc  "  et  '  Theothas. —  "  Thcodosius  junior  post 

quasi  maturam  segetem  obvia  qua?que  Honorium  quadragesimua  quinlus  ab  Au- 

inetunt,  calcant,  transcunt." — Ilj.—(T.).  gusto,"  \-c. — J3ede,  i.  13.  It  is  curious 

'Stone*. The  text  reads  claoa  i  b,  which  that  the  Irish  compiler  stops  short  just 

should  evidently  be  clucuib,  and  is  trans-  before  Bede's  account  of  Palladius  being 

latod  accordingly (T.)  sent  to  the  Scots  by  Pope  Celestine,  pro- 

k  \Vnlces.  — "  Sicut  enim  ager  a  feris,  bably  for  the  same  reason  which  led  to  the 

ita  miseri  cives  discerpuntur  ab  hosti-  omission  of  Nennius's  section  De  Mirabi- 

hus." Bede,  ibid. — (T).  libus  Hibernia:,  because  there  existed  al- 


'75 

Gaedhels;  and  they  returned  to  their  home  then.  Immediately  the 
enemy  came,  and  mowed  down"  the  Britons  like  a  ripe  corn  field. 

The  ambassadors  were  sent  again,  and  a  legion  came  to  the  assist- 
ance of  the  Britons,  and  fought  against  the  enemies  of  the  Britons,  and 
the  ditch  which  the  second  Severus  made  was  repaired  by  them  ;  it 
was  of  stones'  this  time,  i.  e.  seven  feet  broad  and  twelve  high  from  sea 
to  sea ;  of  sods  they  found  it,  and  they  fortified  it  so  that  they  might 
not  be  required  to  come  again  to  assist  them;  and  they  departed. 

When  the  Gaedhels  and  the  Cruithnians  heard  this  they  came  upon 
them  (i.  e.  upon  the  Britons)  as  wolves*  upon  sheep. 

Ab  incarnatione  cccc.xxii.  Theothas'  junior  post  llonorium  the 
forty-fourth  king  after  Augustus. 

ready  in  the  Irish  language  what  the  writer  which   the  text  of  this  work   has    been 

regarded  as  the  better  and  fuller  account  principally   taken.     The   many  ignorant 

of  these  events.     Tho,  above  abstract  of  blunders  made  by  the  scribe  in  this  por- 

Bede  is  of  no  historical  or  literary  value,  tion  of  his  work,  prove  that  the  persons 

and   would  be  unworthy   of  publication  employed    in    making    these    transcripts 

except  as  it  forms  one  of  the  interpola-  were  often  possessed  of  no  literary  quali- 

tions  introduced  into   the  Irish   version  fications  for   such  a  task,  except  the  art 

of  the  Historia,  in   the  manuscript  from  of  penmanship. — (T.) 


APPENDIX. 


IRISH  ARCH.  SOC.    16.  2  A 


,78 


I. 


[Go  pearccai&  caiRNic    CINN  so.] 

Q6QS  Sappan  jngi  m-bpecan  i  a  pram,  -|  jahaip  neapc  Safari 
1  Cpuirneac  ;  -]  rug  oo  feci'j  ingean  pi£  Ctlban  .1.  babona  mjjean 
Loaipno  nnc  Gipc;  -\  m  h-f  ]io  naipceo  oo  acr  a  pup  .1.  Gjic  in^ean 
Coaipno  jop  cpulla  la  TTluijiebac  mac  Go^am  thic  Neill  co  h-Gpim> 


a  The  miracles  of  Cairnech. — This  legend 
is  probably  subsequent  to  A.  1).  1092, 
when  the  primacy  of  the  see  of  Lyons  was 
decreed;  perhaps  also  to  the  synod  of 
Cashel  in  1172,  which  established  canons 
of  affinity;  since  its  author  accounts  it 
a  sin  in  Muirchertach  to  marry  the  widow 
of  his  maternal  aunt's  son.  Though  pos- 
sibly the  sin  of  David,  killing  and  th.>n 
marrying,  may  be  what  he  complains  of. 
-(//.) 

11  After  this. — This  legend  occurs  only 
in  the  Book  of  Ballymote,  where  it  is  in- 
serted between  what  I  have  numbered 
sections  xiv.  and  xv.,  supra  p.  75,  i.  u. 
immediately  after  the  account  of  the  com- 
plete subjection  of  the  Britons  to  the 
Romans.  The  words  "  after  this,"  how- 
ever, must  imply  some  considerable  time 
after  the  Romans  had  abandoned  Britain ; 


for  if  Sarran  had  dominion,  as  the  story 
goes  on  to  say,  over  the  Saxons  as  well  as 
over  the  Picts,  his  reign  must  have  been 
subsequent  to  the  Saxon  invasion,  which 
is  dated  A.  1).  449  :  and  some  time  sub- 
sequent, for  his  father-in-law,  Loam, 
king  of  Scotland,  began  his  reign  A.  1>. 
503.  Ogygia,  p.  471.  The  genealogy  of 
Sarran  or  Saran,  the  father  of  St.  Carnech, 
is  thus  given  by  Colgan  from  the  genea- 
logy of  the  saints  in  the  Book  of  Lecan : 
Saran,  son  of  Colgan  (or  Colchuo),  son  of 
Tuathal,  son  of  Fedhlim,  son  of  Fiat-bra 
Cassan,  son  of  Colla-da-Crioch.  Acta  SS. 
p.  783,  n.  i,  and  see  also  p.  713,  c.  4.  In 
another  authority  quoted  ib.  u.  2,  Fedh- 
lim is  made  the  son  of  Fechim,  son  of 
Fiach,  son  of  Colla-da-Crioch;  but  the 
Hrst  is  more  correct  ;  and  as  Colla-da- 
Crioch  flourished  from  the  year  297  to 


I. 


OF  THE  MIRACLES  OF  CAIRNECH"  HERE. 

SARRAN  assumed  the  sovereignty  of  Britain  after  this",  and  esta- 
blished his  power  over  the  Saxons  and  Cruithnians.  And  he  took 
to  wife  the  daughter  of  the  king  of  Alban,  viz.,  Babonac,  daughter 
of  Loarn,  son  of  Ere".  And  it  was  not  she  that  was  married6  to  him, 
but  her  sister,  viz.,  Ere,  daughter  of  Loarn,  until  she  eloped  with 
Muiredhach,  son  of  Eoghan,  son  of  Niall,  to  Eri.  and  she  bore  him 

four 


about  350,  according  to  O'Flaherty's 
Chronology,  we  may  reasonably  suppose 
Saran  to  have  reigned  about  the  year  500, 
or  somewhat  later. — ( T.) 

c  Babona. — Pompa  or  Babona,  daughter 
of  Loarn  Mor  Mac  Ere,  first  king  of  Scots 
in  Lorn  called  after  him,  circa  A.  D.  503. 
Ogygia,  p.  471.  Colgan,  ActaSS.  xxviii. 
Martii,  p.  782.  She  bore  to  Sarran  three 
sons:  St.  Carnech,  St.  Ronan,  and  St.  Bre- 
can  or  Becan  (ibid.),  of  which  names  the 
first  only  occurs  in  the  following  list. 
This  Sarran  was  son  of  Coelchu,  and  fifth 
in  descent  from  Fiachra  Cassan,  nephew 
to  Colla  Huas,  1 3Oth  king  of  Erin ;  and 
was  one  of  the  chiefs  of  Orgiellia  or  Oriel 
in  Ulster.  Ogygia,  ibid,  and  p.  359,  363. 
-(H.) 


d  -Ere,  or  Ercus,  as  O'Flaherty  and 
Colgan  call  him  for  distinction's  sake ;  for 
Ere  occurs  in  this  story  as  the  name  both 
of  a  man  and  of  a  woman — (7".) 

e  Not ....  married. — This  contradictioti 
may  perhaps  be  explained  by  reference  to 
the  irregularities  prevalent  in  a  much  later 
age  of  Irish  Christianity.  So  late  as  the 
time  of  Malachi  of  Armagh,  contractum 

conjugiorum aut  ignorabant  aut 

negligebant.  Bernard!  Vita  Mai.  in  torn, 
iv.  p.  128,  Mabillon.  But,  under  his  cor- 
rection, "  concubinatus  honestat  celebri- 
tas  nuptiarum,"  p.  130.  The  meaning  of 
this  is,  probably,  well  explained  by  Dr. 
Lanigan  as  of  the  system  of  betrothals  or 
sponsalia  defuturo,  not  followed  up  by  the 
contractus  conjiigii,  or  actual  marriage  de 
A2 


i8o 


1  co  jiuc  ceicpi  macu  oo  .1.  TTlu]|iceajicac  mac  Gpca  -|  peapabac 
1  Ui^eapnac  i  TTIaion. 

Clanaip  umoppo  Sap  pan  babona  co  po  cmprneab  leo  .u.  meic 
.1.  Cuipig  -]  Caipnech  -]  Gppcop  Oallain  "]  Caemlac  ;  -]  acbail 
iap  copcup  i  mp  m-buai6  i  caij  TTlapeam. 

Cuipig,  imoppo,  po  gab  iap  fin,  50  n  epecc  a  neapc  pop  Sa^ana, 
-)  con  n-epa  cacaip  poipecneac  i  uail  maimpcpech  Caipnic  .1.  a 
bpafaip.  TTluipceaprac  mac  Gpca  in  can  pin  i  uail  pig  bpeacan 

»5 


prcusenti:  Irish  Eccl.  Hist,  iv.  pp.  64,  70-72 . 
In  the  very  rude  age  of  I Sarran  anil  Babona, 
we  may  understand  how  the  latter  was 
taken  to  wife,  but  not  married,  although 
the  mother  of  three  or  four  sons. — (77.) 

r  Four  sons Ere,  daughter  of  Loarn 

Mae  Ere,  was  married  to  Muredach,  son  of 
Eoghan  mac  Niall  Naoighiallach,  and  bore 
him  four  sons,  Muirchertach,  king  of  Erin ; 
Feradhach,  Tighernach,  and  Maon.  And 
after  Muredach'a  death  she  was  remarried 
to  Fergus,  son  of  Conall  Gulban,  another 
grandson  of  Niall  the  Great,  to  whom  she 
bore  four  other  sons,  Sedna  (progenitor 
of  the  Gulbanian  kings  of  Erin),  Fedhlim 
(father  of  St.  Columkille),  Brendan,  and 
Loarn.  Ogygia  and  Colgan,  ubi  xiijim. 
— (77.)  See  Additional  Notes,  No.  XX11. 

8  Five  son.? Only  four  are  here  men- 
tioned. In  the  Naemh  Seanchus,  or  Genea- 
logies of  the  Saints,  preserved  in  the 
Book -of  Lecan,  (in  the  tract  which  Colgan 
attributes  to  Aengus  the  Culdee,  and  fre- 
quently quotes,  under  the  title  of  "  Libel- 
lus  de  matribus  Sanctorum,")  only  three 
sons  of  Baboua  and  Sarran  are  mentioned ; 


perhaps  because  three  only  were  saints: 
pompa  injen  ^.oaipn  macaip  Chcupnijj, 
1  6pecain,  meic  Sapam,  -|  Ronain  pin» 
mic  Sapcnn.  "Pompa,  daughter  of  Loarn, 
was  the  mother  of  Cairnech  and  Brwttn, 
sons  of  Saran,  and  of  Konan  Finn,  son  of 
Saran." — (2'.)  Saint  Cairnech  was  the  son 
of  Saran  and  Pompa,  or  Babona.  But 
of  the  other  three  the  case  is  less  plain. 
St.  Dalian,  according  to  Colgun,  was  the 
son  of  Colla  (son  of  Ere,  of  the  line  of 
Colin  Iluais,  king  of  Erin),  by  a  mo- 
ther named  Forgail,  A.  SS.  Jan.  xxi.x. 
p.  203.  His  real  name  was  Eochaidh. 
and  he  was  surnamed  Dalian,  by  reason 
of  his  blindness.  lie  was  lineally  descended 
from  Colla  Iluais,  and  was  cousin-german 
to  St.  Muidoc  of  Ferns,  their  fathers,  Colla 
Mac  Ere  and  Sedna  Mac  Ere,  being  bro- 
thers. See  Ogygia,  iii.  c.  76.  Of  Caemlacli 
I  cannot  say  anything.  But  the  word  Lui- 
rig,  if  it  were  a  name  at  all,  would  seem 
only  to  be  a  surname,  for  it  is  the  Latin 
word  lorica.  Armour  was  not  early  worn 
in  Ireland.  At  the  battle  of  Seghais,  in 
Leinster,  Tighernach,  aim.  709,  the  Britons 


four  sonsf,  viz.  Muircheartach  Mac  Erca,  and  Fearadhach,  and  Tigh- 
earnach,  and  Maian. 

And  Sarran  had  issue  by  Babona  ;  and  there  were  begotten  by 
them  five  sonss,  viz.,  Luirig,  and  Cairnech,  and  Bishop  Dallain, 
and  Caemlach;  and  he  [i.  e.  Sarran]  died  after  victory  and  after  tri- 
umph in  the  house  of  Martin". 

Luirig  then  succeeded  to  the  throne,  and  he  extended  his  power 
over  the  Saxons,  and  he  forcibly  built  a  fort  within  the  precincts  of 
the  monastery  of  Cairnech  his  brother.  Muircheartach  Mac  Erca1 

happened 


who  served  on  Ceallach's  side  were  re- 
marked for  wearing  the  luirig.  But  it 
may  be  that  the  appellation  is  rather  ob- 
tained by  changing  the  orthography  of  a 
real  name  than  in  the  way  of  a  surname. 
See  below,  p.  190,  note — (H.)  Lurach 
occurs  as  a  proper  name  in  Irish  history  ; 
but  who  the  Luirig  was  who  is  described 
in  the  legend  before  us  as  a  British  or  Cor- 
nish king,  I  do  not  know.  —  (T.) 

h  Martin.  —  The  house  of  Martin  is 
Tours  in  France,  which  city  he  appears 
to  have  conquered,  and  bestowed  the  bi- 
shopric on  his  son,  Cairnech.  But  nei- 
ther of  those  1'acts  appears  otherwise  than 

by  implication (H.)   Unless  we  suppose 

Tech-Martain  to  be  the  name  of  some 
place  where  there  was  a  monastery  dedi- 
cated to  St.  Martin  ;  if  so,  Sarran  dying 
with  victory  and  triumph  may  signify 
that  he  died  a  monk.  There  are  two 
places  called  St.  Martin's  in  Cornwall. 
But  at  that  time,  a  little  before  the  Be- 
nedictines, all  Irish  monks  were  of  the 
Martinist  foundation,  and  every  monas- 


tery, in  a  certain  sense,  a  House  of  Martin. 
-(T.) 

>  Muircheartach  Mac  Erca — This  mo- 
narch, called  Mac  Erca,  from  the  name 
of  his  mother,  Ere,  daughter  of  Loarn, 
was  king  of  Ireland  from  509,  according 
to  Tighernach,  but,  according  to  the 
more  probable  chronology  of  the  Annuls 
of  Ulster,  from  513  to  534.  The  ac- 
count here  given  of  him  is  not  very  con- 
sistent with  his  reputation  as  the  first 
Christian  king  of  Ireland,  "  a  good  and 
pious  sovereign."  Lanigan,  i.  p.  435.  We 
may,  perhaps,  suppose  that  the  murders 
for  which  he  was  banished  from  Ireland 
in  his  youth,  and  the  subsequent  parri- 
cide of  his  grandfather,  for  which  he  was 
banished  from  Scotland,  were  committed 
before  his  conversion  to  Christianity. 
But  the  same  excuse  cannot  be  made  for 
other  immoralities  attributed  to  him.  See 
Petrie's  Essay  on  Tara  Hill,  Transactions 
Koyal  Irish  Academy,  vol.  xviii.  Antiq. 
p.  1 1 8,  sq.  The  whole  of  this  strange 
legend  gives  a  curious  picture  of  the  loose 


182 

15  pojlaim  ^aipcm,  lap  na  Dicup  a  h-Gpino  ap  na  Cpoppana  DO 
mapbaD,  -\  lap  na  oicop  mpcain  a  h-Qlbam  ap  mapbaD  a  pean- 
arap  i.  LoaipriD  pig  Qlban;  conap  capla  Do  coipeapcab  a  aipm  in 
can  pin  co  Caipnoec  co  mac  Deiptipcarap  a  marap;  co  n-ebaipc 
Caipnec  pip,  boo  pig  Gpenn  -|  bpecan  ru  caiDci,  ~|  Do  geba  nearh 
lapoam  ace  co  n-Dicuipea  Lmpij  DO  neapc  aca  pop  in  n-eclaip. 
QnDpin  luij  mac  Gpca  50  pi£  i  acbepc  a  h-aifeapc  lap  puaccam 
.1.  Na  cumraij  DO  caraip  i  uail  Caipnic  eppcop.  Oap  mo  Oebpoc, 
ap  Luipic,  ap  calma  popm  in  peaca  ai£i  allcai  pil  aicci  anDap 
pem  1  in  CoimDe  ma  n-anaip.  UeiD  mac  Gpca  ppux  culu  Caipnec 
mpcain  ajup  plopmip  a  h-aireapc.  ^abaip  peapj  mop  Caipnec 
oocain  i  DIJCIC,  m'icci  pomcoimDic  ]iom  Oia  co  pop  in  aobup  na 
h-aiji  pin  po  gaba  ba|'  -|  leacpu  a  mic  Gpca.  h-Gpailip  Caip- 
neach  annpin  ap  mac  Gpca  cccc  \>o  Dicup  a  bparap,  1  gahaip 
Docain  ap  aeb  conipac,  "j  ua  luit)  Di  h-epail  Caipnic  DO  Dicup  in 
pijij.  Co  n-Deapna  Oia  mop  mipbnili  ap  Caipneach  anopin  .1.  cop 
paeb  a^  n-allaij  ap  in  c-pleib  co  h-aepecc  inD  pi^,  gap  Deplaip  in 


notions  of  morality  entertained  by  its  au-  tlie  legend  that  he  was  attributing  to  his 

thor.     It   is  not   merely   that   Sarran    is  hero  anything  unbecoming  the  Christian 

represented   as   marrying  one   sister  uiid  character.  —  -(?'.) 

living  with  another;  that  St.  Cairneeh  is          J  Grossana  —  These  were  the  cross-bear- 

represented  as  born  in  incest,  and  Muir-  ers  in  religious  processions,  who  also  com- 

cheartach  in   adultery,    for  these  things  bined  with  that  occupation,  the  profession, 

may  have  happened  in  a  state  of  heathen-  if  we  may  so  call  it,   of  singing  satirical 

ism  without  reproach  to  the  hero  of  the  poems  against  those    who  had   incurred 

story;  but  St.Cairnech,  a  Christian  bishop,  Church  censure,   or  were  for  any  other 

is   represented  as  instigating  Muirchear-  cause  obnoxious.     In  this  latter  capacity 

tach  to  the  murder  ofLuirig;   and  exult-  they  often  brought  upon  themselves  the 

ing  over  the  death  of  his  brother  in  Ian-  vengeance  of  the  lawless  chieftains  whom 

guage  very  inconsistent  with  a  profession  they  lampooned  __  (!'.) 
of  the  Gospel;   and  all   this  without  any          k  Judge  __  The  word  Debpoc  is  explain- 

apparent   consciousness  in   the  writer  of  ed  in  the  Leabhar  Breac,  fol.  14,  a.,  by  the 


1 83 

happened  to  be  at  that  time  with  the  king  of  Britain,  learning  military 
science,  after  he  was  expelled  from  Ireland  for  having  killed  the 
Crossansj,  and  after  having  been  subsequently  expelled  from  Alba, 
for  having  killed  his  grandfather,  Loarn,  king  of  Alba.  It  happened 
that  he  was  at  that  time  getting  his  arms  consecrated  by  Cairnech, 
the  son  of  his  mother's  sister ;  then  Cairnech  said  to  him,  Thou  shalt 
be  king  of  Eri  and  of  Britain  for  ever,  and  shalt  go  to  heaven  after, 
provided  thou  canst  but  prevent  Luirig  from  exercising  his  power 
against  the  Church.  Then  Mac  Erca  went  to  the  king,  and  after  he  came 
he  told  his  message,  viz. :  Build  not  thy  city  (said  he)  in  the  precincts 
of  Cairnech  the  bishop.  As  God  is  myjudgek,  says  Luirig,  I  think  more 
of  the  power  of  the  pet  Avild  fawn  he  has,  than  of  his  own  power,  or 
of  the  power  of  the  Lord  God  whom  he  adores.  Mac  Erca  returned 
to  Cairnech,  and  told  him  the  result1.  Great  wrath  suddenly  seized 
Cairnech,  et  dixit,  My  prayer  to  my  Lord,  to  my  God,  is,  that  that 
very  fawn  may  be  the  cause  of  his  death,  and  by  thy  hand,  O  Mac 
Erca!  Cairnech  then  commanded  Mac  Erca  to  go  forth  and  destroy 
his  brother,  and  he  [Jfac  Erca]  immediately  took  upon  himself  to 
light  him  ;  and  he  went  forth  at  the  command  of  Cairnech  to  destn  >y 
the  king.  And  God  worked  a  great  miracle  there  for  Cairnech,  viz. 
he  sent  a  wild  fawnm  out  of  the  mountain  into  the  king's  assembly, 

and 

paraphrase  oap  mo  t)ia  mbpuca,  i.  c.  "  by  to  Luirig. — (2'.) 

my  God  of  judgment."  The  meaning  is:  m  A  wild  fawn. — Meaning  of  course  the 
"  I  would  as  soon  attribute  miraculous  wild  fawn  already  spoken  of,  for  other- 
powers  to  the  pet  fawn  that  follows  him  wise  the  prayer  of  St.  Cairnech  would  not 
as  to  Cairnech  himself,  or  the  God  he  have  been  fulfilled.  Fawns  and  deer  oc- 
worships."  The  word  Coimbe,  here  trans-  cupy  a  prominent  place  in  Irish  hagio- 
lated  "  Lord  God,"  is  the  title  generally  graphy,  and  were  the  subjects  of  many 
given  to  Christ — (2'.)  miracles.  St.  Berach,  of  Cluain  Coirphthe, 
'  The  result, — Literally  his  desire,  i.  e.  had  a  deer  which  was  sent  to  him  mira- 
what  he  had  desired  to  be  done  in  regard  culously  to  carry  his  luggage,  when  he 


184 


pluaj  na  61016  ac  in  ]iij  gona  banoalaib';  -|  Di^ic  TDac  Gpca,  mac 
cialla  cliach  a  cijeapna  ppin  clepeach  0015  buo  pulli  gach  aim- 
neb  lene  in  cumcacca  ppi  Luipi  j.  Qnopin  pinoip  TTlac  6pca  in 
lopj;  cara  i  plip  in  pij  cop  comr|iom  ;  -\  cupcaio  50  clepij  ~|  cent) 
laip  pe  comapra,  •]  oipc,  ceno  Do  bparap  DUID  a  Caipnic  ;  ec 
oi;cic  Caipneach,  leic  oampa  an  cnairii,  -\  comailpiu  in  pmip,  i 
popia  jac  cpeap  comapba  puno  co  bpach  ~\  in  6pmo. 

Ueccaip  geill  i  neapc  in  cipi  annpin,  -\  Caipnec,  ppi  pecc 
m-blia6na,  im  mop  pigi  bpecan,  -)  Cac,  -|  Ope,  -\  Sapcan. 

Co  n-oenpna  TTlac  Gpca  puillmb  in  peccaib  .1.  bean  Linpic  DO 
cabaipc  mp  carajaD  i  lap  comlengaib  co  mop  ppi  pij  Ppangc,  a 
copnam  a  injene  ppip,  co  n-nopcaip  ic  TTlac  Gpca  poDeoib  in  injen, 

1 

set  out  in  search  of  a  suitable  place  for 
the  foundation  of  his  monastery.  Vit.  S. 
Berachi,  c.  12.  Colg.  Acta  SS.  p.  342. 
Deer,  at  the  prayer  of  St.  Attracta,  were 
made  to  carry  timber  to  build  the  castle 
of  the  tyrant  king  of  Connauglit.  Vit.  S. 
Attracta?,  c.  1 3,  ib.  p.  280.  A  fawn,  toge- 
ther with  other  wild  animals,  lived  with 
St.  Kieran  of  Saigher,  "  manserunt  initis- 
sime  apud  cum  et  obediebant  ei  sccun- 
dum  jussionem  viri  Dei  in  omnibus  quasi 
Monachi." — Vit.  c.  6,  ib.  p.  458.  A 
wild  deer  came  daily  to  St.  E  mania  to 
be  milked.  Vit.  S.  Fechini,  c.  41,  ib. 
p.  138;  a  miracle  which  was  also  vouch- 
safed to  St.  Crumtheris.  Vit.  Trip.  S. 
Patr.  iii.  c.  74.  The  wild  deer  also  obeyed 
St.  Molagga  of  Teghmolagga.  Vit.  c.  19, 
20,  Acta  SS.  p.  147,  148.  A  deer  brought 
St.  Columbkille  his  books  which  he  had 
lost.  O'Donnell,  lib.  i.  c.  3.  Trias  Thaum. 


p.  407.  St.  Patrick  found  a  deer  suck- 
ling her  fawn  in  the  spot  where  the  north- 
ern altar  of  the  cathedral  of  Armagh  now 
stands,  and,  taking  up  the  fawn,  the  deer 
followed  him  "  velut  mitissima  ovis."  Jo- 
celin.  c.  163.  Comp.  also  Eleran.  c.  86, 
Colg.  Triad.  Th.  p.  46.  And  the  same  thing 
happened  at  Sabhall  or  Saul,  Trip.  iii.  c. 
71.  On  another  occasion  St.  Patrick  and 
his  companions  passed  through  the  hostile 
ambuscade  of  King  Leogaire  to  Tara,  the 
saint  and  his  followers  appearing  to  their 
enemies  like  eight  deer,  and  the  boy  Benen, 
like  a  fawn,  carrying  a  small  bundle  on 
his  shoulder,  which  contained  the  sacred 
Bible  of  the  saint.  Vit.  Trip.  i.  c.  60.  To 
commemorate  this  miracle  Saint  Patrick 
composed  the  Lorica  or  Fedli  Fiadha,  first 
published  by  Mr.  Petrie  from  the  Liber 
Ilymnorum.  Essay  on  Tara,  p.  56,  sq. — 
(T.) 


1*5 

and  the  host  all  went  in  pursuit  of  it  except  the  king  himself  and 
his  women.  Et  dixit  Mac  Erca,  If  you  had  been  just,  my  Lord, 
towards  your  cleric,  it  is  certain  that  it  would  give  increased  happi- 
ness to  have  the  royal  robe  on  Luirig.  Then  Mac  Erca  thrust  his 
battle  staff  into  the  king's  side,  so  that  it  was  balanced":  and  IK; 
returned  to  his  cleric,  and  the  head  of  the  king  with  him,  as  a 
token  ;  et  dixit,  Lo,  here  is  thy  brother's  head  for  thee,  0  Cair- 
nech.  Et  dixit  Cairnech,  Leave  me  the  bone,  and  eat  thou  the 
marrow,  and  every  third  coarb0  shall  be  thine  for  ever,  herep  and 
in  Eri. 

Then  he  (Mac  Erca)  took  the  hostages  and  the  power  of  the 
district  into  his  own  hands,  conjointly  with  Cairnech,  for  seven  years, 
as  also  the  supreme  sovereignty  of  Britain,  and  Catq,  and  Ore,  and 
Saxonland. 

And  Mac  Erca  then  committed  an  additional  sin,  that  is,  he  took 
to  himself  the  wife  of  Luirig,  after  many  battles  and  conflicts  with 
the  king  of  France,  to  take  his  daughter  from  him,  until  at  last  the- 

daughter 

n  Balanced— That  is,  it  passed  through  cularization  of  that  sort  is  here  offered  liy 
the  King's  body,  so  that  as  much  of  the  Cairnech,  as  a  reward  to  Muirchertach  tin- 
spear  appeared  at  one  side  as  at  the  other,  killing  his  brother (//.)  The  word  coarl  >, 

Or  it  stood  balanced  in  the  wound,  with-  however,  was  also  used  to  denote  a  succes- 

out  falling — (T.)  sor  in  a  civil  office,  as  a  king,  chieftain,  or 

0  Coarl. — The  comharb  or  coarb  is  the  judge;   and  this  may  possibly  be  its  signi- 

successor  and  representative  of  the  original  ficationhere;  although  the  former  is  more 

founder  in  any  prelacy,  episcopal  or  con-  probable,  as  the  grant  in  this  case  comes 

ventual.     The  word  seems  here  used  for  from  the  spiritual  chief,  in  return  for  sup- 

the  benefice  itself.  That  the  king  was  often      posed  services  done  to  the  church (7'.) 

the  impropriator  or  commendatory  of  the  P  Here,  i.  e.  in  Britain  ;  for  Luirig  is 

coarbs,  subject  to  the  maintenance  of  the  said  to  have  been  a  king  of  or  in  Britain, 

clergy  of  the  mother  church,  appears  from  and  the  scene   of  the  legend  appears  to 

the  Tribes  and  Customs  of  Hy-Many,p.  77,  have  been  placed  there — (T.) 

note  J;  Davis  cit.  ibid.    An  extensive  se-  q  Cat — Cat  is  Catanesiu  or  Caithness, 

IRISH  ABCH.  SOC.   l6.                                   2  B 


i86 


1  cu  jiuc  ceirpi  meic  t>o  .1.  Conpccmcm,  i   ^ael>ea^  P1^,  °  caac 
puipij  bperan  -|  pig  bpeaccm  Copno  ;  Nelleno  a  quo  genp  Nel- 

lan 


of  which   mention  has  already  occurred. 
See  p.  148,  note  f. — (H.) 

'  The  daughter,  i.  e.  the  daughter  of  the 
king  of  France.  I  suppose  the  meaning 
to  be,  that  Luirig's  wife  was  the  daughter 
of  the  king  of  France  ;  that  after  the 
death  of  her  husband  she  was  taken  by 
Mac  Eroa;  that  this  led  to  wars  with  the 
king  of  France,  and  that  Mac  Erca  finally 
succeeded  in  retaining  her.  If  there  be 
any  history  in  this,  it  is  difficult  to  trace 
it  in  such  records  as  are  accessible  to  me. 
It  is  probably  a  pure  fiction,  like  many 
other  things  in  this  fabula  perquam  fu- 
tilis,  Sjel  joippjeth  jjan  ouch  f-ipmne, 
as  it  is  truly  called  in  a  note  in  the 
handwriting  of  old  Charles  O'Conor  on 
the  margin  of  the  Book  of  Ballymote. — 
(T.) 

s  Constantine.— It  is  to  be  inquired  what 
Constantino  is  here  named  as  the  son  of 
Mac  Erca.  The  Britons  had  a  great  notion 
of  some  royal  saint  so  called,  but  distinct 
from  Constantine  the  Great.  Out  of  the 
tyrant  Constantinus,  who  assumed  the 
purple  in  Britain,  and  wore  it  in  Aries, 
and  his  son,  Constans  the  Monk,  they  have 
formed  the  kings  of  Britain,  Cystennin 
Vendigaid,  i.  e.  Saint  Constantine,  and  his 
sou,  Constant  Vanach,  or  Constans  the 
Monk.  They  figure  in  the  mythus  of 
Vortigeru,  and  also  in  the  heroic  mythus 
that  ensues,  Cystennin  being  father,  and 


Constant  Vanach  brother,  to  Emmrys 
Wledig  and  Uthyr  Pendragon.  Next 
comes  Cystennin  ap  Cadwr,  prince  of 
Cornwall,  who  became  king  of  all  Bri- 
tain in  542,  and  to  whom  Gildas  in  543 
or  544  addresses  severe  reproaches.  The 
Brut  of  Kings  affirms  that  he  was  slain 
in  the  third  year  of  his  reign,  and  buried 
in  the  Cor  y  Cewri,  near  Salisbury.  It 
is  observable  that  he  was  nearly  the  last 
king  who  could  have  been  there  buried, 
for  in  552  Cynrie,  son  of  Cerdic,  gained 
the  victory  of  Searobyrig  or  Sarum.  But 
others  make  a  Saint  Constantine  out  of 
him.  Mr.  Kitson,  in  his  Cornish  Saints, 
annexed  to  the  Life  of  Arthur,  p.  165, 
gives  "  Constantine,  king,  monk,  and  mar- 
tyr, i  ith  March,  556.  Domesday  Book." 
Hector  Boece  asserts  that  he  stole  away 
to  Ireland  secretly,  clam  suis,  received 
the  tonsure  in  an  Irish  monastery,  and 
suffered  martyrdom  while  preaching  to 

Pagans  in  Scotland Lib.  ix.  cit.  Ussher, 

Brit.  Ecclrs.  p.  281.  ed.  2.  While  John 
of  Tinmouth  says,  that  Constantine,  kini/ 
of  Cornwall,  died  peaceably  in  the  mo- 
nastery of  St.  David  of  Menevia Cit.  ibid. 

p.  282.  I  regard  the  whole  story  of  his 
tonsure  as  a  blundering  fiction,  having  its 
origin  in  the  history  of  Constans  Mona- 
chus,  son  of  Constantinus.  The  son  of  Cador, 
however,  seems  to  have  been  the  person  to 
whom  the  legend  of  St.  Constantine,  king 


i87 


daughter'  fell  into  Mac  Erca's  hands,  and  she  bare  him  four  sons, 
viz.  Constantine8,  and  Gaedhal-Ficht  (from  whom  descend  the  kings 
of  Britain,  and  the  kings  of  Britain-Conm')  ;  Nellenn  (a  quo  gens 

.  Nellan 


of  Britain,  and  abbot  of  Kathain  HuaShua- 
naigh  in  Westmeath,  had  reference.  See 
Petrie  on  the  Round  Towers,  p.  351,  etc. 
Constantinus  Rex  Britonum  regnuni  ab- 
dicavit  et  peregrinationis  causa  venit  Ra- 
theniam  tempore  S.  Mochudda;.  Cathal 
Maguire,  cit.  ibid.  353.  This  tale  ob- 
tained such  credit,  as  to  have  given  the 
adjoining  lauds  the  name  of  Muigh  Con- 
stantin  before  the  period  (perhaps  not 
very  recent)  when  the  legend  about  the 
bard  Rumann  which  Mr.  Petrie  quotes, 
was  composed.  Mochuda  died  in  637, 
with  no  reputation  of  peculiar  longevity. 
— Lanigan,  vol.  ii.  p.  102.  It  is,  therefore, 
apparent,  that  Constantino  ap  Cador  could 
not  have  known  him;  much  less  have 
been  his  coarb,  as  Maguire  pretends.  But 
the  failure  of  synchronism  will  rather 
give  fresh  impeachment  to  the  story  than 
raise  doubts  as  to  the  person  who  is  meant, 
for  the  day  of  commemoration  is  the  same 
(March  1 1  th)  at  Rathain  as  it  was  in  Corn- 
wall. We  may  regard  the  Irish  legend  as 
an  explanation  of  what  is  read  in  Boece. 
As  to  the  other  story,  that  Constantine  of 
Rathen  was  Constantine  Mac  Fergus,  king 
of  Albania  or  the  Crutheni,  it  is  wholly 
absurd  and  forged.  For  Constantine 
Mac  Fergus  the Pict  acceded  in  788 or  789, 
and  died  king  in  8 1 9.  But  he  is  not  found 
in  the  text  of  the  ancient  Irish  Festilogies. 

2  B 


Now  of  all  these  persons,  it  is  evident 
that  St.  Constantine  ap  Cador,  king,  mar- 
tyr, and  monk,  should  be  the  son  fabu- 
lously ascribed  to  king  Mac  Erca.  For 
that  son  was  a  Cornubian  king  ;  and  the 
date  of  Muirchertach,  who  died  in  533, 
squares  well  with  that  of  a  son  who  (after 
a  short  reign)  died  in  retirement  in  556. 
Tighernach,  aim.  588,  mentions  the  Con- 
versio  ad  Dominum  (tonsure)  of  our 
Constantinus,  with  no  further  explana- 
tion. 

The  name  of  Gaedhal  Ficht  is  merely 
that  of  the  nation  of  Gwyddyl  Fichti,  or 
North  Picts  of  Britain  ;  and  is  far  from  un- 
important, as  an  Erse  recognition  of  that 
Welsh  appellation.  The  Scotch  being  also 
of  Mac  Erca's  family,  the  whole  of  Bri- 
tain, by  means  of  Constantine,  of  Guedhul 
Ficht,  and  of  Loarn,  is  made,  in  aome  sort, 
to  derive  itself  from  Ere,  mother  of 
Murchertach  and  Loarn.  But  such  stuff 
will  not  bear  a  narrow  examination  — 


1  Britain-  Cornn,  i.  e.  Cornwall.  —  (7'.) 
The  title  of  the  Cornish  saint,  Iddawg 
Corn  Prydain,  is  usually  rendered  Horn 
of  Britain,  in  a  personal  sense,  like  Post 
Prydain,  Pillar  of  Britain.  But  this  pas- 
sage confirms  my  suspicion,  that  Com 
Prydain  simply  meant  de  Cornubifi  or 
Cornubiensis,  Corn-Wealh.  —  (II.) 
2 


i88 

Ian,  -|  Sccmoal  in  mac  ele,  a  quo  genp  Scanoail  .1.  a  n-Gpinn  6  caic 
clanna  na  oepi  pin. 

Co  n-DepnaD  mop-nnol  clepec  n-Goppa  co  Copinip  TTlapcan 
.1.  pecc  n-eppmc  .pp?.  aji  .ccc.  ma  comanba  peaoaip,  Do  pai£ib 
Caipnich  eppcop  Uoipmopi  1  bpecan-copnD,  -|  na  n-uili  bpeacnach, 
DO  Dicup  caca  h-eippi,  -\  Do  ceapcu^un  gaca  cfpi  immupr  na 
h-ecalpa  ;  -|  aDpopapc  conoacc  maprpa  in  beaca  Do  Chaipnech 
ap  pob  e  a  ro£a  beara  mapcpa  ;  -|  pnaip  Caipnech  .III.  eppcop  Do 
ro£map  map  mailli  pe  Caipnnech  Dia  n-elecpf,  1  Do  coib  in  Lien 
Da  h-eilirpi  .1.  a  Dualup  TTlic  Gpca  -]  TTluipeaoai£. 

Do  luiD  CaipnDech  perhe  50  bpecnaib  CopnD  no  Capnciceon,  ~\ 
po  cumoaigeaD  caroip  po  calmam  laip  ap  Doij  na  paiciD  pe  cip 
na  calum  na  h-eoip  ;  cop  puillepraip  nepc  ~|  piji  TIlic  6pca  pe 
hliaDna,  -j  co  cdinic  co  n-6pinD  peme,  conaD  h-e  cec  eppcop  clamoi 
Neill  i  Uempacli,  "|  jop  be  ceo  maiprfp  -|  ceD  manach  GperiD,  ~| 
cecna  bpeceam  peap  n-€penD  poj\  Q 

u  Coarl  a f  Peter The  coarb  of  Peter  whom   tliat    country    was    converted. — 

is  the  Pope.     What  follows   is   very  oh-  (//.) 

scure;  but  it  seems  to  me  to  imply  that  There  was  a  council  held  at  Tours,  in 

Cairnech  and  his  clergy,  in  consideration  the  year  566  or  567,  on  the  lyth  of  No- 

of  his  relationship  to  the  heads  of  the  Hy  veinber,   in  the  church  of  St.  Martin,  in 

Niall,  were   placed  in   possession  of  the  which  Euphronius,  bishop  of  Tours,  pre- 

metropolitan  see  of  Lyons,  which  in   the  sided,   assisted  by  eight   other   prelates. 

Council  of  Clermout,  A.  1).  1092,  was  for-  The  object  of  the  Council  was  the  refor- 

nially  established  as  the   primacy  of  all  mation  of  discipline,  and  its  twenty-seven 

France.     If  so,  we  have  now  made  him  canons   which   remain   all   relate  to  that 

primate  of  France,  of  Armorica  at  Tours  subject.  They  may  be  found  in  the  printed 

(taking  that  construction  of  the  House  of  editions  of  the  Councils,  and  there  is  an 

Martin,  above,  p.  1 80),  of  Wales  and  Corn-  abstract  of  them  in  Richard,  Analyse  des 

wall,   and  in  effect,  of  Ireland,  of  whose  Conciles,  torn.  i.  p.  569,  sq.  4°.  Paris,  1772. 

church  he  assumes  the  entire  disposal.  From  this  it  would  seem   that  there  was 

The  name  Caruticeon,  attached  to  Corn-  here  possibly  some  foundation  of  fact  in 

wall,  I  believe  to  mean  Carentociawn,  the  the  mind  of  the  writer  of  this  legend.    St. 

diocese  or  jurisdiction  of  St.  Carentoc,  by  Cairnech  was  originally  of  Cornwall,  and 


Nellan),  and  Scannal,  the  other  son,  a  quo  gens  Scannail ;  i.  e.  it  is 
in  Eri  the  descendants  of  the  two  last  are. 

Now  a  great  synod  of  the  clergy  of  Europe  was  made  at  Tours 
of  Martin,  viz.,  three  hundred  and  thirty-seven  bishops,  with  the 
coarb  of  Peter",  to  meet  Cairnech,  Bishop  of  Tours  and  Britain-Cormi, 
and  of  all  the  British,  to  cast  out  every  heresy,  and  to  reduce  every 
country  to  the  discipline  of  the  Church.  And  the  chieftainship  of 
the  martyrs  of  the  world  was  given  to  Cairnech,  because  martyrdom 
was  his  own  choice.  And  Cairnech  found  thrice  fifty  bishops  who 
made  it  also  their  choice  to  accompany  Cairnech  in  pilgrimage,  and 
that  number  went  to  Lienv  in  pilgrimage  for  the  sake  of  Mac  Erca 
and  Muiredhach. 

Cairnech  then  set  out  to  the  Britons  of  Cornn  or  Carnticeon,  and 
a  city  was  built  by  him  under  ground,  in  order  that  he  might 
not  see  the  earth,  nor  the  country,  nor  the  sky  ;  and  he  increased 
the  strength  and  sovereignty  of  Mac  Erca  for  a  year,  and  he  (i.  e. 
Cairnech)  came  to  Eri  before  him,  so  that  he  was  the  first  bishop  of 
the  Clann-Niall  and  of  Temhar  ( Jara),  and  he  was  the  first  martyr 
and  the  first  monk  of  Eri,  and  the  first  Brehon"  of  the  men  of  Eri 
also. 

Now, 

may  have  been  connected  with  the  Arum-  ecclesiastics  of  Cornwall. — (?'.) 
rican  Britons,  whose  affairs  appear  to  have  v  Lien,  probably  Lyons.. — ('!'.) 

formed  a  part  of  the  business  of  the  above-  w  Brehon,    i.e.  judge.     The  author  of 

mentioned  Council  of  Tours,  for  its  ninth  the  legend  was  determined  to  concentrate 

canon  prohibits  the  consecration  of  a  Ko-  in  the  person  of  his  hero  every  ecclcsiasti- 

man  or  Briton  to  the  episcopal  office  by  cal  perfection.     This  tale  was  either  un- 

an  Armorican  bishop,  without  the  license  known  to  Colgan,  or  else  he  did  not  con- 

of  the  metropolitan  (of  Tours)  or  the  com-  sider  it  worthy  of  any  notice.     He  makes 

provincial  bishops.     This  would  seem  as  no  mention   of  any  tradition  that  Cair- 

if  the  Armorican  bishops  were  then  seek-  nech  was  a  martyr,  nor  of  any  of  the  other 

ing  to  exercise   an  independent  jurisdic-  particulars  here  recorded — Vit.  Carnechi, 

tion,   perhaps,  in    conjunction   with    the  ad  28  Mart.  p.  782. — (T.) 


190 


Cop  carampeoap  umoppo  Ppaingc  ~\  Sajram  Oia  eip  ppi  TTlac 
Gpca,  i  gop  roglab  a  cpich  -j  a  cafaip  pe  cian  o'aimpp,  -|  gop 
milleab  cpichab  ~\  cumocca  na  cipi  ha  near^a  Do  pe  mere  a 

curhacca 


"  Mmk  war. — The  legend  speaks  only 
of  the  triumphs  of  Mac  Erca,  and  con- 
cludes with  his  elevation  to  the  sove- 
reignty of  Ireland.  For  an  account  of  his 
miserable  death  see  Petrie  on  Tara  Hill, 
pp.  119,  1 20,  and  the  Four  Masters,  ad 
;inn.  527  ;  also  Cossgrave  in  Vit.  S.  Cuth- 
borti.  c.  i.  ap  Culgan,  ad  20  Mart.  p.  679, 
and  the  notes,  p.  690.  —  (T.) 

The  writer  of  the  legend  might  have 
gone  on  to  say  that  St.  Cairnech  contri- 
buted to  the  cruel  fate  of  King  Mac  Erca, 
by  his  bitter  and  not  inoperative  male- 
dictions on  him  and  his  house;  and  was 
to  him  what  Saints  Kuadan  and  Cbluin- 
kille  were  to  king  Diarmid  Mac  Cear- 
bhoil.  —  See  Cambrensis  E versus,  p.  74; 
Pi-trio  on  Tara  Hill,  p.  122. 

Ft  remains  to  inquire  what  is  meant  by 
the  legend  of  Sarran  conquering,  and  his 
MIII  Luirig  governing,  Britain,  England, 
mid  Pictland?  Perhaps  nothing.  It  is, 
however,  true  that,  somewhere  about  those 
timos,  an  Irish  force  conquered  the  island 
i  if  Mona.  or  Anglesey.  That  island  was 
recovered  out  of  their  hands  by  Cas- 
wallawn Lawhir,  or  the  Longhanded,  fa- 
ther to  Maelgwn  Gwynedd,  king  of  Bri- 
tain, who  defeated  their  leader,  Serigi  or 
Sirigi,  at  the  place  marked  by  the  Cer- 
risr  y  Wyddyl  or  Stones  of  the  Irishmen. 
Lhoyd  and  Powel,  Descr.  of  Wales,  p.  15; 


\Varrington,  i.  p.  40  ;  Camden,  ii.  p.  60 ; 
Rowland's  Mona,  p.  147;  Triads,  series  i. 
tr.  49 ;  ser.  ii.  tr.  40.  But  Lhoyd,  as  well  as 
D.  Langhorne,  Chro.  Reg.  Angl.  p.  73,  errs 
in  saying  that  the  Gwyddyl  Fichti  or  Picts 
were  in  Mona,  instead  of  the  Gwyddyl  or 
Irish  ;  which  is  contrary  to  the  Liber 
Triadum,  misquoted  by  Langhorne.  The 
latter  makes  the  further  mistake  of  sup- 
posing Gwyddyl  Fichti  to  mean  Cruthe- 
nians  from  Clanboy.  The  troops  of  Gan- 
val  the  Irishman,  says  Triad  8,  series  3, 
came  into  N.  Wales,  and  settled  there  for 
twenty-nine  years,  until  they  were  driven 
into  the  sea  by  Caswallawn  ap  Beli.  But 
it  is  incredible,  that  the  only  two  Cas- 
wallawns  whose  acts  are  recorded  should 
both  have  driven  the  Irish  out  of  North 
Wales  ;  or  that  an  Irish  inroad  of  the 
fractional  duration  of  twenty-nine  years 
should  be  referred  to  C»sar's  days  ;  and 
1  doubt  not  that  the  Irish  settlers  for 
twenty-nine  years  were  those  whom  Cas- 
wallawn Lawhir  expelled.  They  had  taken 
strong  hold  of  Mona.  For  Caswallawn, 
after  his  victory  at  the  Cerrig,  slew  Sirigi 
at  his  town  of  Llan  y  Gwyddyl  (Irish 
Church),  now  Holy-Head,  which  the 
Irish  had  built.  Rowlands,  ibid.  Oval 
and  circular  trenches  continue  to  be 
shewn  in  Mona  as  the  ground  plots  of 
the  Irish  habitations,  orcyttiau  yr  Gwyd- 


191 


Now,  after  this  the  Franks  and  the  Saxons  made  warx  against 
Mac  Erca,  and  he  destroyed  their  country  and  their  cities  after  a 
long  contest ;  and  the  country  and  the  power  of  the  territories  adja- 
cent 


delodd. — Rowlands,  p.  27.  If  the  Irish 
population  were  then  expelled  (and  not, 
as  I  rather  suppose,  subjugated),  the  me- 
mory of  its  having  been  firmly  seated 
there  appears  in  Golyddan's  division  of 
the  Irish  of  Vortigern's  day,  into  those  of 
Ireland,  Mona,  and  North  Britain, 

"Gwyddyl  Iwerddon,  Mun,  a  Plirvdyn." — Arch. 
Myvyr.  i.  156. 

But  Einiou,  father  of  Caswallawn,  for 
whom  his  son  reconquered  Mona,  was 
styled  Anianus  Rex  Scotorum,  i.  e.  Einiou 
Vrenin  o  Wyddelodd,  king  of  the  Irish- 
men. See  Vaughan,  cit.  Camden,  ii.  69. 
Now  this  Caswallawn  is  said  to  have 
reigned  overGwynedd  seventy-four  years, 
from  443  to  517.  But  that  chronology  is 
tainted  with  the  omission  of  two  gene- 
rations, and  the  confounding  of  two  dif- 
ferent Einions.  His  true  pedigree  is 
Cynedda,  Einion  Urdd,  Owain  Uanivyn, 
Einion  Vrenin  o  Wi/ddelodd,  Caswallawn 
Lawhir.  See  Rowlands,  p.  155.  Cam- 
bro-Briton,  i.  p.  247.  The  insertion  of 
these  generations  may  bring  the  date  of 
Sirigi's  death  into  the  life-time  of  Mur- 
ehertach,  for  he  obtained  the  crown  of 
Ireland  in  513,  and  reigned  over  it 
till  533.  Now,  it  seems  possible,  that 
the  conquest  of  Mona  by  the  Irish,  may 
be  the  conquest  of  the  British  island. 


so  largely  exaggerated  in  this  piece;  and 
that  iheLuiriij  subsequently  slain  in  Bri- 
tain may  be  Sirigi,  as  most  writers  spell 
the  name.  Here  we  read  that  Mac  Erca 
sinned  in  taking  Luirig's  widow  for  his 
wife;  but  in  Lynch  we  read,  that  he  pe- 
rished by  the  vengeance  of  Sin  or  Sheen 
(daughter  of  Sigh),  whose  father  he  had 
put  to  death.  Cambr.  Eversus,  p.  74.  In 
the  prophecy  of  St.  Cairneach  it  is  said, 

"  Sin  is  the  woman  who  kills  thee, 
O  son  of  Ere,  as  1  see:" 

and  it  enumerates  her  eleven  names,  I  ait 
does  not  i>ive  her  father's  name.  See 
Petrie  on  Tara,  p.  120.  Sigh  certainly 
approaches  to  Sirigh.  If  there  be  any 
truth  at  all  in  Muirchertach's  having  so- 
journed in  Britain,  it  was  probably  enough 
among  the  Irish  of  Mona,  and  during  tin- 
five  years  of  anarchy,  508-13,  preceding 
his  accession,  when  Ireland  had  no  kinsr. 
That  Cairnech  may  have  presided  over 
the  Irish  Church  or  Llauy  Gwyddyl.  that 
he  may  have  quarrelled  with  Sirigi  con- 
cerning the  fortifications  of  that  place, 
and  that  both  he  and  Muirchertach  were 
considered  instrumental  to  his  destruction, 
are  all  possible  circumstances.  But  whe- 
ther their  suggestion  throws  any  glimmer 
of  light  on  this  extravagant  narration,  I 
leave  others  to  judge. — (//.) 


192 

curhacra  ~|  a  nepc  ;  -|  50  canic  lap  pin  a  mop  loin^eap  DO  gabail 
pi£i  na  h-Gpeno  ;  50  oeipib  ic  pan  na  long  pop  boinD,  jop  loipcre 
laip  a  lonja  .1.  jjonao  ua6a  pon[na]lon^,  -)  gop  mapbaD  coijeD- 
ai£  na  h-Gpeno  lapcam,  -\  50  po  j;aib  a  piji  Do  Dilep  co  bpac  DO 
peiri  -|  oa  cloinD.  <5°r  Tnilleab  cumacca  -]  neapc  bpecan  Dia  h-eipi 
mopin. 

II. 
DO  ]H§CINt;ai&   erceHN   QN'OSO  t)Q   R6R   666QIR   ^f-lHO   t)Q- 

tacha. 

.1.  Imp  ^luaip  a  n-lppup  Oomnann,  ipe  a  h-aipoi,  na  cuipp  be- 
pap  inci  ni  lohaic  irep,  ace  papaic  a  n-mjne  ~|  a  puilr  i  oobep  500 
aen  inci  aicni  ap  a  acliaip  -|  ap  a  penachaip  co  cian  mp  n-ejaib, 
1  ni  lobann  CID  in  peoil  apcena  cen  pailliuD  inn. 

.11. 

'  Fdii-na-lnng,  i.e.  the  drawing  up  of  the  Antiquities  of  Ireland,  by  Harris,  chap, 

ships.   This  place  is  now  unknown (?'.)  xxxiv.  p.  227 (T.) 

'•  Wonders. — The  following  account  of          a  Glrn-iln-liM-hn The  Book  of  Glenda- 

tlie  wonders  of  Ireland  is  taken  from  the  loch  is  not  now  known  to  exist.   The  book 

Book  of  Ballymote,  fol.  140,  b.     Another  which  is  preserved  in  the  Library  of  Tri- 

tract  on  the   same  subject,  but  differing  nity    College,     Dublin,    and    which   was 

both   in   the    number  and   order    of  the  quoted  by  Mr.  Petrie,  in  his  Essay  on  Tara, 

"Wonders"  described,  is  to  be  found  in  as  the  Book  of  Glendaloch,  has  since  been 

the  MS.  Library  of  Trinity  College,  Dub-  ascertained  by  Mr.  Curry  to  be  the  Book 

lin,    H.  3,  17,  col.  725,  the  same  volume  of'Leinstcr (T.) 

from  which  the  text  of  the  Irish  Nennius          "  I/n.t  Ghutir,  now  Inish-jrlory,  an  island 

has  principally  been  taken  in  the  present  about,  a  mile  west  off  the  coast  of  Erris, 

work.     It  shall  be  referred   to  in  these  County   Mayo.      See   O'Flaherty's  West 

notes  by  the  letter  D.  as  before.  Connaught,   and    Mr.    Ilardiman's    note, 

The  Mirabilia  Hiberuia;  are  described  p.  Si  ;   also   O'Donovan's  Hy-Fiachrach, 

by  Nennius,  Giraldus  Cambrensis,  Kalph  p.   492.       O'Flaherty    (Ogygia,   p.    290) 

lligden  in  his  Polychronicon,  who  relies  makes  this  the  seventh  wonder.     In  D.  it 

entirely  on  Giraldus;  O'Flaherty's  Ogy-  is  the  sixth,  and  is  thus  described:  Imp 

gia,  part  iii.  c.  50,  p.  289.  See  also  Ware's  ^lucup  &penumo  u  n-lppop  OomnunD  a 


'93 

cent  to  him  were  also  destroyed  by  the  greatness  of  his  power  and  of 
his  strength  ;  and  after  this  he  came  with  a  large  fleet  to  take  the 
sovereignty  of  Eri.  He  landed  at  Fan-na-long  on  the  Boyne,  where 
he  burned  his  ships,  from  which  circumstance  comes  the  name  of 
Fan-na-longy;  and  he  killed  the  provincial  kings  of  Ireland  after- 
wards, and  took  their  sovereignty  by  right  for  ever,  for  himself  and 
for  his  descendants.  And  then  the  power  and  strength  of  Britain 
was  destroyed  after  him. 

II. 

OF  THE  WONDERS8  OF  Em    HERE  ACCORDING  TO  THE  BOOK  OF  GLEN- 

I)A-LoCHAa. 

i.  Inis-Gluairb  in  Irrus  Domhnann ;  this  is  its  property,  that  the 
corpses  that  are  carried  into  it  do  not  rot  at  all,  but  their  nails  and  hair 
grow,  and  every  one  in  it  recognises  his  father  and  grandfather  for  a 
long  period  after  their  death.  Neither  does  the  meat  unsalted  rot 
in  it. 


ConnaceaiB  na  mcupb  bio  mnci  noco 
bpenaio,  i  nocho  lobaio,  -\  papaio  a 
pulcu,  i  a  n-mjne,  -|  DO  beip  each 
aichne  pop  a  muinocip  pein  inci.  "Inis 
Gluair  of  St.  Brendann,  in  Irrus  Domh- 
nann in  Connacht:  the  corpses  that  are 
in  it  do  not  stink  or  rot,  and  their  hair 
and  nails  grow,  and  every  one  recognises 
his  own  relations  in  it."  The  island  was 
sacred  to  St.  Brendan,  and  still  contains 
the  ruins  of  churches  dedicated  to  that 
saint.  Giraldus  mentions  this  miracle,  but 
gives  a  wrong  name  to  the  island :  "  Est 
insula  quredam  in  occidentali  Conactia: 
soloposita,  cui  nomen.Ami,  a  sanctoBren- 

IRISH  AECH.  SOC.   1 6.  2  C 


11. 

dano,  ut  aiunt,  consecrata.  In  hac  ho- 
minum  corpora  nee  huruantur,  nee  putres- 
cunt;  sed  sub  divo  posita  et  exposita 
permanent  incorrupta.  Hie  homines  avos, 
atavos,  et  tritavos,  longamque  stirpis  sua; 
retro  seriem,  mirando  conspiciunt  et  cog- 
noscunt." — Top.  Hib.  Dist.  ii.  c.  6.  Aran 
was  not  dedicated  to  St.  Brendan,  but  to 
St.  Endeus;  see  Cambr.  Eversus,  pp.  7,  8. 
Lush-glory  is  at  present  uninhabited ;  but 
it  contains  the  ruins  of  some  very  ancient 
dwellings;  and  leeks  and  other  garden 
herbs,  introduced  by  the  Monks  of  St. 
Brendan,  are  found  growing  wild  in  seve- 
ral places  on  the  island. — (T.) 


194 

.ii.  Loc  n-Gchach;  ipi  a  aipoi,  cpano  cuilmn  Do  bepap  mo  ppi 
pecc  m-bliaDnaib  ip  cloc  a  m-bi  DC  ip  in  gpian,  -]  ip  ictpann  na  m-bi 
ip  in  uipce,  cpano  umoppo  na  m-be  uappu. 

.111.  Cippa  loca  Con  i  Connaccaib;  ipi  a  h-aipoi  ppi  pin  loc  pil 
na  compocup,  cuij  cpoijio  ecuppu  Do  jpep,  cia  popbpio  cia  pepgaic 
in  loc  pechiopi  he  in  cac  aipoi  Dib  pin  Do  jpep. 

.iu.  Uippa  ^abla  limn  i  n-Qipgiallaib;  ipi  a  aipoi  pinlc  Dap 
arabap  h-ic  liaca  po  cerotp. 


c  Loch  n-Ed/ach,  i.  e.  the  lake  of  Eochach 
or  Eochadh,  now  Loch  Neagh.  Ogygia, 
p.  292.  It  is  very  generally  believed  that 
this  lake  possesses  the  property  of  petrify- 
ing wood.  Harris,  in  his  edit,  of  Ware's 
Antiquit.  p.  228,  quotes  Boetius,  Hist. 
Lapidum  et  Gemmarum,  for  a  statement 
respecting  Lough  Neagh  exactly  the  same 
as  that  of  the  text,  but  says  that  it  has 
been  found  to  be  certainly  false.  It  is  po- 
pularly believed,  however,  to  the  present 
day.  Nennius  describes  the  miracle  thus  : 
"  Est  aliud  staguum  quod  f'acit  ligna  du- 
rescere  in  lapides :  homines  autem  fingunt 
ligna,  et  postquam  formaverint  projictint 
in  stagno,  et  manent  in  eo  usque  ad  caput 
anni,  et  in  capite  anni  lapis  reperitur. 
Et  vocatur  Loch  Echach."  Comp.  O'Fla- 
herty,  Ogygia,  p.  290,  n.  3.  In  D.  this  is 
the  second  wonder,  and  is  thus  described : 
f/och  n-Gochach,  Do  ni  DO  cpuno  chml- 
lino  a  cino  .un.  m-bliaona  conao  lapann 
u  m-bi  be  n  calrnam,  -|  cloc  a  m-bi  a 
n-uipci,  -|  cpano  a  m-bi  op  uipce.  "  Loch 
n-Eochach  makes  a  holly  tree  at  the  end 
of  seven  years,  so  that  the  part  that  is  in 


.U. 

the  earth  becomes  iron,  and  the  part  that 
is  in  the  water  becomes  stone,  and  the 
part  that  is  out  of  the  water  remains 
wood."  Cambrensis  has  not  mentioned 
this  wonder,  although  he  relates  a  story 
about  the  origin  of  this  lake,  which  he 
says  was  originally  a  fountain,  that  was 
permitted  to  overflow  the  country,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  unnatural  crimes  of  the 
inhabitants.  And  this  too  in  Christian 
times,  for  he  adds :  "  Quod  piscatores  aqua- 
illius  turres  ecclesiasticas,  qusc  more  pa- 
tria;  arctic  sunt  et  altffi  necnon  et  rotunda, 
sub  undis  manifesto  sereno  tempore  con- 
spiciunt." — Topogr.  d.  2,  c.  9.  This  story 
bears  evident  marks  of  a  desire  to  brand 
the  Irish  with  odious  imputations  ;  but 
if  we  omit  the  accusation  of  unnatural 
crimes,  and  the  insinuation  that  the  event 
took  place  in  Christian  times,  therestofth.e 
legend  occurs,  nearly  as  it  is  related  by 
Cambrensis,  in  that  curious  collection  of 
Irish  historical  and  bardic  traditions,  the 
Dinnseanchus. 

According  to  this  Irish  legend  Lough 
Neagh  is  said  to  have  broken  forth  in  the 


ii.  Loch  n-Echachc;  its  property  is:  a  holly  tree  that  is  placed  in 
it  for  seven  years,  the  part  of  it  that  sinks  into  earth  will  be  stone, 
the  part  that  remains  in  the  water  will  be  iron,  and  the  part  that  re- 
mains above  water  will  be  wood. 

iii.  The  well  of  Loch  Con"  in  Connaught;  its  property  is,  with 
regard  to  the  lake  that  is  near  it,  there  are  five  feet  in  difference  of 
height  between  them  at  all  times.  Whether  the  lake  swells  or  shrinks 
the  well  imitates  it  in  each  change  continually. 

iv.  The  well  of  Gabhal  Liuine  in  Oirghialla;  its  property  is,  that 
human  hair  upon  which  it  is  poured  will  become  immediately  grey. 


reign  of  Lugadh  Sriabh  n-dearg,  A.  D. 
^J-VS;  Ogyg.  p.  289.  See  also  Lynch, 
Cambrensis  Eversus,  pp.  132,  133 — (T.) 

A  The  well  of  Loch  Con — This  well  is 
now  unknown  in  the  vicinity  of  Loch  Con, 
a  lake  in  the  barony  of  Tirawley,  County 
Mayo.  There  is  nothing  miraculous  in 
this  wonder,  which  is  the  ninth  in  O'Fla- 
herty's  list. — Ogygia,  p.  291. 

District!)  Mayo  foris,  atque  Tirauliie  in  oris 
Loch  Canis  ad  ripam,  spatio  remeabilis  sequo, 
Exundante  lacu,  vcl  subsidente,  scaturit 
Proximus ;  accessu  fugiens,  rediensque  recessu. 

D.  describes  the  seventh  wonder  Cippa 
locao  [read  loca  Con,  the  scribe  wrote 
o  for  9,  the  contraction  for  con]  a  Con- 
naccaib  cio  mop  a  chuile  -|  cio  mop  u 
cape  bio  .u.  cpai^ci  acappu  DO  j;pep. 
"  The  well  of  Loch  [Con]  in  Connaught, 
whether  there  is  a  great  flood  or  whether 
there  is  a  great  drought,  there  are  always 
five  feet  difference  of  height  between  them." 
-(T.) 


e  Gabhal  Liuin. — Now  Galloon,  a  pa- 
rish in  thebarony  of  Dartry,  inMonaghan, 
which  county  was  a  part  of  the  ancient 
Oirghialla,  or  Oriel.  Giraldus  places  a  well 
possessing  the  same  wonderful  property 
in  Munster,  and  mentions  another  having 
an  opposite  efficacy  in  Ulster  :  "  Est  fons 
in  Mornonia,  cujus  aqua  si  quis  abluitur 
statim  canus  efficitur.  Vidi  hominem 
cujus  pars  barbaj,  limphis  istis  lota,  canis 
incanduerat,  altera  parte  tota  in  sua  natura 
fusca  manente.  Est  e  contra  fons  in  Ulto- 
nia,  quo  si  quis  abluitur,  non  canescet 
amplius.  Hunc  autem  fontem  femina? 
frequentant,  et  viri  caniciem  vitare  volen- 
tes." — Dist.  2,  c.  7.  On  which  Lynch 
remarks  :  "  De  his  fontibus  id  universim 
dico  cum  nee  hodie  nee  memoria  majorum 
fontes  ejusmodi  dotibus  imbuti  esse  de- 
prehenduntur,  nullam  supetere  rationem 
cur  affectiones  illis  a  natura  insita;  tempo- 
ris  diuturnitate  evanescerent.  Ac  insu- 
per  addo,  cum  indefinite  fontium  loca  de- 


196 

.u.  Tippet  pleibe  6la6ma;  ipi  a  h-aipoi  oia  nop  peja  no  Dia  nop 
caiolea  neach  m  an  aep  i  colao  pleochaiD  co  n-oencup  oipppionn 
1  lobapca  aicce. 

.ui.  Uippa  Rara  boch  i  Uip  Conaill;  ipi  a  aipoe  ppi  gac  n- 
buine  arop  a,  mao  poua  a  paejul  epjio  anaipo  in  a  01516,  -|  po  jni 
conngup  mop  ppip.  TTlao  gaipic  imonpo  a  pe  pop  leci  pip  Do  plmc 
co  jpian. 

.un.  Uippa  uipce  pomblaip  i  caeb  in  Copainn.  Ipi  aipoe  in 

copaip 


signet,  eum  in  non  modicam  erroris  suspi 
ciouem  venire."— Cambr.  Evers.,  p. 8,  coinp. 
also  p.  100.  It  is  evident,  however,  from 
the  present  tract,  that  similar  tales  were 
current  among  the  Irish  themselves,  and 
therefore  that  Cambrensis  did  not,  in  this 
instance  at  least,  draw  wholly  on  his  own 
invention.  InD.  the  well  of  Galloon  is  thus 
described,  and  stands  eighth  in  the  list  of 
wonders:  Cippajabpa  luin  un-Oipgiul- 
laiK  liaruij  na  pulcu  cap  a  rabuprup 
a  h-uipce.  "  The  well  of  Gabar  [read 
Gabhal]  Luin,  in  Oirghialla,  it  renders 
grey  the  hair  on  which  its  water  is  poured." 
.O'Flaherty  omits  this  wonder. — (T.) 

f  Sliabh  Bladhma,  now  Slieve  Bloom. 
The  irritable  well  here  mentioned  is  the 
source  of  the  River  Bearbha,  now  the  Bar- 
row, in  the  barony  of  Ily-Kegan,  now 
Tinnahinch,  in  the  north-west  of  the 
Queen's  County.  It  floods  the  lower 
country  for  miles  in  the  rainy  seasons,  a 
circumstance  which  probably  gave  rise  to 
the  legend  in  the  text.  In  D.  this  is  the 
ninth  wonder,  and  the  story  is  told  thus: 
Cippa  pleibe  6la6ma  bin.  t)o  ni  pleb- 


chcio  mop  bia  ti-uicrep  h-i  6  oume,  ni 
coipceano  on  pleocab  co  n-bentap  10- 
baipc  cuipp  Cpipr  aj5  on  cibpaio.  "  The 
well  of  Slieve  Bladhma  then.  It  makes 
a  great  ilood  when  it  is  looked  upon  by 
a  man  ;  the  Hood  does  not  cease  until  the 
offering  of  the  Body  of  Christ  is  made  at 
the  well."  Many  similar  traditions  re- 
specting wells  still  prevail  amongst  the 
peasantry  in  every  part  of  Ireland.  Mr. 
()' Donovan,  in  a  communication  to  the 
Editor,  says:  "To  this  day  the  Irish  retain 
the  notion  that  if  a  pure  spring  well, 
whether  consecrated  or  not.  be  defiled  by 
throwing  any  nauseous  filth  into  it,  or 
washing  soiled  clothes  in  it,  it  will  either 
dry  up  or  migrate  to  some  other  locality, 
and  many  examples  of  such  migrations  are 
pointed  out  in  every  county  in  Ireland. 
Thewell  of  Slieve  Bladhma  appears  to  have 
been  more  deeply  vengeful  than  any  of 
our  modern  wells,  since  the  glance  of  a 
human  eye,  or  the  touch  of  a  human  hand, 
was  an  offence  which  threatened  inunda- 
tion to  the  neighbourhood,  and  could  only 
be  expiated  by  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass 


197 


v.  The  well  of  Sliabh  Bladhmaf :  its  property  is,  if  any  one  gazes 
on  it,  or  touches  it,  its  sky  will  not  cease  to  pour  down  rain  until 
mass  and  sacrifice  are  made  at  it. 

vi.  The  well  of  Rath  Both5  in  Tir-Conaill:  its  property  to  every 
one  who  seeks  it  is,  that  if  his  life  is  to  be  long  it  rises  up  against 
him,  and  salutes  him  with  a  great  murmur  of  waves.  If  his  life  is  to 
be  short  it  sinks  down  suddenly  to  the  bottom. 

vii.  A  well  of  sweet  water  in  the  side  of  the  Corann" ;  the  pro- 
perty 


itself."  O'Flaherty  does  not  mention  this 
well  in  his  metrical  list  of  wonders ;  but 
Cambrensis  gives  the  following  version  of 
it,  in  which,  as  usual,  he  greatly  improves 
upon  the  story :  "  Est  fons  in  Momonia, 
qui  si  tactus  ab  homine,  vel  etiam  visus 
fuerit,  statim  tota  Provincia  pluviis  in- 
undabit :  qufe  non  cessabunt  donee  saeerdos 
ad  hoc  deputatus,  qui  et  virgo  fuerit  a 
nativitate,  tarn  meute  quam  corpore,  Missa: 
celebratione  in  Capella  (qua;  non  procul 
a  fonte  ad  hoc  dignoscitur  esse  fundata) 
et  aquas  benedictas,  lactisque  vacca;  unius 
coloris  aspersione  (barbaro  satis  ritu  et 
ratione  carente)  fontem  reeonciliaverit." 
Top.  dist.  2,  e.  7 ;  Comp.  Cambr.  E  versus, 
pp.  8,  9.-(T.) 

B  Rath-Both,  now  Kaphoe,  in  the  county 
of  Donegal.  This  wonder,  which  is  not 
noticed  by  Giraldus  or  O'Flaherty,  is  the 
tenth  in  D.,  and  is  thus  described:  Cibpu 
Raclia  bocli  a  cpich  Conuill  mao  paej- 
lac  inci  ceio  DU  peguo  cibui^  cap  a  bpu- 
ach  umach  ;  mao  cpu  imoppo,  m  cic 
cap  a  hop  amach.  "The  well  of  Kuth- 
Both,  in  the  Connell  country :  if  the  per- 


son who  goes  to  look  at  it  is  long-lived  it 
overflows  out  over  its  brink;  but  if  he  is 
withering  it  does  not  go  forth  over  its 
edge."  At  Acha,  or  St.  John's  well,  near 
Kilkenny,  it  was  believed  that  the  holy 
well  overflowed  at  midnight  on  St.  John's 
Eve;  but  no  such  property  as  that  ascribed 
to  the  well  in  the  text  seems  to  be  now  re- 
membered at  Kaphoe — (T.) 

h  The  Corann,  a  plain  from  which  rises 
Sliabh  Gamh,  near  Colooney,  in  the  county 
of  Sligo ;  on  the  side  of  which  mountain 
this  well  is  still  pointed  out,  and  the  po- 
pular belief  still  attributes  to  it  the  pro- 
perty described  in  the  text.  Giraldus 
mentions  this  well,  but  he  places  it  erro- 
neously on  the  top  of  the  mountain ;  "  Est 
et  in  Conactia/iiRS  fluids  aquie  in  vertice 
inoutis  excelsi,  et  procul  a  mari,  qui  die 
naturali  bis  undis  deticiens,  et  toties  exu- 
berans  marinas  imitatur  instabilitates."— 
Top.  Dist.  2.  c.  7.  From  the  expressions 
marked  in  italics  it  would  seem  that  Giral- 
dus had  before  him  a  copy  of  the  Irish 
account  of  these  wonders,  or  a  translation 
of  it.  No  marvellous  story  lost  any  of 


198 


copccip  pini  Imu6  "|  cpajao  po  aipoi  tnapa,  -\  ipcian  o  muip 
cena. 

.uni.  Cajin  cpacca  Gocaili;  noco  luja  ic  cichep  e  in  can  ip  Ian 
ap  in  can  ip  cpaij,  -]  ceo  muip  cap  na  caipjib  mopaib  na  muip- 
beac  impi  pan  can. 

.ijc.  Cloc  pil  i  loc  na  n-Oncon  i  pleib  i  pail  ^1nr11  Do  l°ca  ;  ipi 
a  aipoe,  Dia  m-buailceap  i  DO  plepc  cpi  inopaiOi  pleochao  -]  jpmn 
lapmn. 

.;r  Ice  annpo  cpi  h-ingancai  Uempa  .1.  mac  .un.  m-bliaoan  DO 

cupmiD 


its  wonders  by  passing  through  his  hands, 
but  it  is  evident  that  he  copied  from  a  na- 
tive original.  In  D.  this  is  the  eleventh 


The  miraculous  property  of  the  earn  of 
Trawohelly  is  spoken  of  in  the  Libellus 
de  Mutribus  Sanctorum,  as  Colgan  calls  it, 


wonder,  and  the  story  is  told  thus:  Cibnn      and  which  he  attributes  to  Aengus   the 


puil  a  cuib  in  Copmo  DO  nl  cuile-|  cpu- 
jjao  po  copmalmp  in  mapu.  "  There 
is  a  well  in  the  side  of  the  Corann,  which 
(lows  and  ebbs  after  the  similitude  of  the 
sea."  A  miracle  similar  to  this  has  been 
already  given  amongst  the  wonders  of 
Alan.  See  above,  p.  121 — (2'.) 

'  The  strand  of 'Kothuil. — The  great  earn 
on  Trawohelly  strand  still  remains,  but 
its  miraculous  property  seems  to  be  DO 


Culdee.  After  enumerating  the  seven 
daughters  of  Dallbronach  of  Dal  Con- 
chobhair  in  the  Uecies  of  Bregia,  and  the 
long  list  of  saints  sprung  from  them,  this 
document  proceeds  (Book  of  Leinster,  fol. 
239,  b.  col.  4.  MS.  Trin.  Coll.  II.  2.  18.) 
Ocup  cono  puncutap  imuculluim  uile 
nu  numi  peo  T  cnpn  Cpacca  Goraile,  -| 
co  pin^pec  uencait),  -\  apbepcucap  nech 
conpcepuo  i  culani  a  n-oenraio  nu  pic- 


more  than  this,  that  it  is  never  covered  by       pao   u   unim  nem,  ~\  na  biao  a  urjabcnl 


the  sea.     "  Super  ttuctus  mirabiliter  emi- 
nens,"  as  O' Flaherty  says,  Ogygia,  p.  174. 


i  culmuin.      Ocup  in  capnpti  in  pa  com- 
pcncpem  co  ci  muipocippoe  h.  piacpach 


It  ib  recorded  in  the  account  of  the  battle      nu  cicpuo  cuipip.     Ocup  upbepc  eppcop 
of  Mttgh  Tuireadh  that    this   earn    was      ITInne. 
raised  over  Eochaidh  Mac  Eire  the  last 
king  of  the  Firbolgs   who  was  killed  on 
the  strand  of  Trawohelly  by  the  Tuatha- 
de-Dunnan,  headed  by  Nuadha  of  the  sil- 
ver hand,  A.M.  2737,  Ogyg.  part  iii.  c.  10. 
Keating  in  loc. 


Nee  con  pcepa  oencuio  ap  noeb 
pec  bio  cloen  bib  mep 
ni  aicpeba  eulam  cmo. 
ni  pia  a  arum  pop  nem. 

"  And  ull  these  saints  met  in  a  synod 


199 


perty  of  that  well  is,  it  fills  and  ebbs  like  the  sea,  though  it  is  far 
from  the  sea  too. 

viii.  The  earn  of  the  strand  of  Eothail'.  It  is  not  the  less  seen  when 
the  tide  is  full  than  when  it  is  at  low  ebb,  and  notwithstanding  that 
the  tide  rises  over  the  large  rocks  on  the  beach  around  it  to  and  fro. 

ix.  A  stone  in  Loch  na  n-0nchonj,  in  a  mountain  near  Glenn-da- 
Loch;  its  property  is,  if  it  be  struck  with  a  wand  byway  of  assault, 
rain  will  ensue,  and  sunshine  after. 

x.  These  are  the  three  wonders  of  Teamhar",  viz.:  a  youth  of 

seven 


at  the  Cam  of  Tragh  Eothaile,  and  they 
made  a  covenant  of  union,  and  they  said 
of  whosoever  should  break  that  union  on 
earth,  his  soul  shall  not  reach  heaven,  and 
he  shall  not  recover  his  station  on  earth. 
And  as  for  this  earn  at  which  we  have 
met,  the  sea  shall  never  cover  it  until  it 
overflows  the  surface  of  Hy-Fiachrach. 
And  Bishop  Mane  said, 

"  Whosoever  shall  dissolve  the  union  of  our  saints, 
AVhether  he  be  degenerate,  or  whether  he  be  mad, 
Shall  not  inhabit  the  firm  earth, 
His  soul  shall  not  reach  to  heaven." 

See  also  the  copy  of  the  same  tract  pre- 
served in  the  Book  of  Lecan,  fol.  43,  and 
O'Donovan's  Hy-Fiachrach,  p.  1 1  7,  note  c. 
The  earn  of  Trawohelly  is  the  eighth  in 
O'Flaherty's  metrical  list  of  wonders ;  it  is 
not  mentioned  in  D (T.) 

J  Loch  na  n-Onchon,  i.  e.  the  Lake  of  Ot- 
ters. This  is  the  name  of  a  lake  in  the  hills 
near  Glandaloch,  perhaps  the  same  which 
is  now  called  Loch-na-hanagan.  There  is 
a  stone  called  the  Deer-stone  in  the  Glen 
itself,  on  the  south  side  of  the  lower  lake, 


of  which  some  similar  tales  are  told ;  but 
the  original  traditions  are  now  so  much 
corrupted  by  the  ignorance  of  the  guides 
and  the  folly  of  visitors  to  the  lakes,  that 
no  dependence  can  be  placed  on  them,  as 
representing  ancient  thought — (7'.) 

k  Teamhar.— The  three  wonders  of  Tarn 
are  given  separately  in  D.  The  first  is 
there  the  nineteentli  wonder,  and  is  thus 
described  :  IDac  .un.  rh-bliaoan  po  l>ui 
a  Ceampaij,  -\  po  tuipim  clano  pon 
aimpip  pin.  "A  boy  of  seven  years  old 
that  was  at  Tara,  and  begot  children  at 
that  age." 

The  grave  of  the  dwarf  is  the  fifteenth 
wonder  in  D.,  and  is  spoken  of  in  theM! 
words:  f'ljje  in  cibuic  u  Cempuij,  cpi 
cpoigri  mnci  bo  cuch  ecup  bej  ~\  mop. 
"The  grave  of  the  dwarf  at  Teamhar;  it  is 
three  feet  long  to  every  one  whether  great 
or  small."  The  meaning  is,  that  every 
one,  whether  a  child  or  a  full-grown  man, 
who  attempts  to  measure  it,  finds  it  ex- 
actly three  of  his  own  feet  long.  O'Fln- 
herty  has  thus  versified  this  wonder, 


2OO 


cupmio  cloinne;  -\  l^t  in  abuic  .u.  cpaijiD  DO  gac  Duine  ann  cm 
heoip  beca  no  mopa;  -|  in  lia  pail  .1.  in  ctoc  no  seppeo  Fa  c°c  ni5 
ap  paempao  plara  Uempac. 

.pa.  Linn  muilino  pi  i  Cluain  pepca  TTlolua  ;  ipi  a  h-aipoe  na 
oaine  no  oop  pocpaic  inci  oca  bpaigic  na  linne  Do  gnic  lumu  Dib. 
Nemipcoic  ech  irnoppo,  oca  pin  puap. 

.pen.  Qonacul  TTlic  Pupcainj  i  Ruipec  i   Cailli  pollomain  i 


which  stands  first  in  his  list — Ogygia, 
pp.  290. 

u  Temoriae  nani  tumulum  lapis  obtegit,  in  quo 
Vir,  puer  aut  infans  tres,  ct  non  amplius,  reqnat 
( tnisque  pedes  longo  ;  numerum  discrimine  nullo 
Multiplicat  minuitve  pedum  proportio  dispar." 

See  also  Petrie  on  Tara  Hill,  p.  156 — (7'.) 
Another  form  of  this  idea  may  be 
termed  the  Procrustean;  where  a  grave 
(Giraldus,  Itin.  Camb.  ii.  cap.  3,  Higden, 
p.  189,  where  read  se  conformem  for  decon- 
formem),  or  a  bed  (Sir  J.  Ware,  Ant.  Ilib. 
i;d.  Harris,  p.  63),  fits  the  length  of  who- 
soever lies  down  in  it.  Such  was  the  grave 
upon  Crugmawr  or  Pen  Tychryd  Mawr, 
in  the  vale  of  Aeron,  in  Cardigan. 

"  Which  to  the  form  of  even- 
Visitor  conforms  itself, 
Where  if  armour  be  left 
Entire  at  nightfall 
Certainly  at  daybreak 
You  shall  find  it  broken." — Higd 

The  tychryd  mawr,  great  house  of 
shuddering,  was  the  palace  of  the  chief  of 
the  giants;  and  it  is  well  if  no  atrocity 
wa?  connected  herewith.  See  as  above 
cited,  and  Hynavion  Cymreig,  pp.  155,1 56. 


Compare  the  Ergengl  Wonder,  No.  xi. 
pp.  1 1 8,  119,  above. — (H.) 

The  Lia  Fail  is  the  seventeenth  won- 
der in  P.,  and  is  thus  described:  Cloch 
ril  a  Cempaij5  .1.  lin  pail,  no  fteifiD  FO 
copaiB  cuch  uin  no  jabao  pi^e  n-fcpinb. 
"There  is  a  stone  at  Tamhar,  i.e.  Lia  Fail, 
which  used  to  roar  under  the  feet  of  every 
one  that  assumed  the  kingdom  of  Eri." 
For  an  account  of  this  stone  see  Ware's 
Antiquities  by  Harris,  pp.  10,  124  ;  and 
Petrie  on  Tara  Hill,  p.  138,  where  the 
question  is  discussed  whether  this  famous 
stone  was  ever  removed  from  Tara,  and 
whether  it  is  the  same  which  now  forms 
the  seat  of  the  ancient  coronation  chair  in 
Westminster  Abbey,  as  is  generally  sup- 
posed  (T.) 

'  Cluain-fearta  Molua,  now  Clonfertmul- 
loe,  an  old  grave-yard,  giving  name  to  a 
parish  dedicated  to  St.  Molua,  at  the  foot 
of  SliabhBladhma,  in  the  barony  of  Upper 
Ossory,  Queen's  County :  "  In  confinio 
Lageniensium  et  Mumoniensium,  inter  re- 
giones  Osraigi  et  Hele  et  Laiges,"  are  the 
words  in  which  the  situation  of  the  ancient 
Church  is  described  in  the  life  of  St. 


201 


seven  years  of  age  begetting  children  ;  and  the  grave  of  the  dwarf;, 
which  measured  five  feet  for  every  one,  whether  small  or  large;  and 
the  Lia  Fail,  i.  e.  the  stone  which  shouted  under  every  king  whom 
it  recognised  in  the  sovereignty  of  Teamhar. 

xi.  There  is  a  mill-pond  at  Cluain-fearta  Molua1 ;  its  property  is, 
the  people  who  bathe  in  it  at  the  neckm  of  the  pond  become  lepers:  it 
injures  not  if  entered  in  any  other  place. 

xii.  The  grave  of  Mac  Rustaing  at  Eus-Ech",  in  Cailli  Follamhain, 

in 


Molua,  and  they  apply  exactly  to  the  site 
of  the  present  grave-yard.  Fleming,  Col- 
lect, p.  374.  Ussher,  Primord.  p.  943. 
Lanigan,  vol.  ii.  p.  206.  St.  Molua's  day 
was  the  4th  of  August.  No  trace  of  the 
pond,  or  tradition  of  its  wonderful  pro- 
perty, is  now  to  be  found  in  the  parish. 

In  D.  this  is  the  eighteenth  miracle, 
and  is  described  thus:  Qca  lino  muilinb 
o  Cluam-pheupca  ITlolua,  -|  clammy  na 
oume  ciajjaib  innci  ace  munaij  aenca- 
ouca  TTlolua.  Qca  mno  aile  ipn  linb 

ceona,  DO  cpaij  oej  acappu 

oenann  pubuip  mao  ann  pin  ciajaip 
innci.  "  There  is  a  millpond  at  Cluain 
Fearta-Molua,  and  the  people  that  bathe 
in  it  become  lepers,  except  the  monks  in 
communion  with  Molua.  There  is  another 
place  in  the  same  pond,  twelve  feet  distant 

and  it  doth  no  harm  if  it  is 

at  this  place  it  is  entered."  The  monks 
evidently  put  out  this  story  to  secure  their 
own  bathing-place  from  public  intrusion. 
-(T.) 

m  Neck — The   word   bpai^ic   denotes 

the  sluice  or  narrow  canal  through  which 

IRISH  AKCH.  SOC.   1 6.  2 


the  water  flows  from  the  linn  or  pond 
upon  the  wheel  of  the  mill.  Mr.  O'Dono- 
van  informs  me  that  these  words  are  still 
so  iised  in  the  County  Kilkenny,  and  pro- 
bably in  most  other  parts  of  Ireland. —  (T.) 

n  Rus-Ech The  old    church  of  Kos- 

each,  now  Russagh,  is  still  remaining, 
near  the  village  of  Street,  in  the  north  of 
the  county  of  Westmeath,  adjoining  the 
County  of  Longford,  but  the  grave  of  Mac 
Rustaing  is  no  longer  pointed  out  or  re- 
membered. Mac  Rustaing  was  the  mater- 
nal brother  of  St.  Coemain  Brec,  and  was 
probably  an  ecclesiastic,  as  he  is  spoken 
of  as  one  of  the  eight  distinguished  scho- 
lars of  Armagh,  about  the  year  740.  See 
Mac  Congliune's  Vision,  Leabhar  Breac, 
p.  219.  St.  Coeman  Brec,  Abbot  of  Ros- 
each,  died  I4th  September,  A.  I).  615 
(Ussher,  Primord.  Ind.  Chron.),  on  which 
day  he  is  mentioned  in  the  Felire  of 
.ZEngus.  At  the  end  of  the  month  of  Sep- 
tember, in  the  MS.  of  the  Felire  preserved 
in  the  Leabhar  Breac,  there  is  the  follow- 
ing account  of  the  grave  of  Mac  Rustaing: 
Coeman  6pecc  ITlac  Nippe  .1.  o  Ropp 


I) 


202 


mioi  nf  cumaing  ben  a  pegaD  cen  rnaiDm  a  Delma  epci,  no  apo- 

501  pe  m-baec. 

.jem.  TTIacpab  o  Chailli  poclao  .1.  t>i  ingin,  Cpebpa  -)  Leppa  a 
n-anmann;  po  labpaiopec  a  m-bponnaib  a  mairpec,  i  ipeb  apbepc- 

;,  raip  a  naeb  pacpaic  i  planaig  pin. 


each  hi  Caille  Polamam  hi  IDioe  aca 
pioe,  ocuplTlac  Rupcamj  map  oen  ppip, 
1  cluno  oen  machap  eac  a  n-oip.  No  hi 
Ropp  liac  aca  Coeman  6pecc,  uc  Oen- 
Sup  oicunc  [sic],  peo  nepcio  ubi  epc 
Roppliacc.  Qonocul  oin  Hlic  Rvipcam^ 
i  Ropp  each  hi  ITlme.  Ni  chumamj 
nach  bfn  a  pea^ao  cen  maiom  a  oelma 
epci  no  cen  apojgaipe  boech  uipum,  uc 
oiric, 

^-ije  VTlic  Rupcumj  puioe, 
Hi  Roppeuch  cen  imnaipe, 
cech  ben  baijio, 


Cpicun  utnm  ITIic  Rupcuinj  pain, 
^apbouipe  amm  TTlic  Samum, 
Qmoiuipp  up  niuc  Conjlinoe, 
Plop  DO  lumib  DO  pmoe. 

'•  Coeman  lirccc  Mac  Nisse,  i.e.  at  Ross 
Each  in  Caille  Follaraain,  in  Meath,  he  is, 
and  Mac  Rustaing  along  with  him,  and 
they  were  both  the  children  of  one  mother. 
Or  it  is  in  Ros  Liag  that  Coeman  Brecc 
is,  ut  Oengus  dicunt  [dicit],  sed  nescio 
nbi  est  Ros  Liag.  The  grave  of  Mac 
Rustaing  is  in  Ross-Each  in  Meath.  No 
woman  can  look  at  it  without  a  sudden  ex- 
clamation, or  a  loud  frantic  laugh.  Ut 
dixit, 


The  grave  of  Mac  Rustaing,  I  say, 

In  Kos  Each,  without  disgrace, 

Every  woman  who  sees  shouts, 

Shrieks,  and  loudly  laughs. 

Critan  was  the  name  of  fair  Mac  Kustaing, 

( iarbdaire  was  the  name  of  Mac  Samain, 

Aindiairr  was  Mac  Conglinde, 

Many  were  the  poems  he  made." 

Mac  Rustaing's  grave  is  the  twentieth 
wonder  in  I).,  and  is  thus  spoken  of: 
Q6n  :cul  mic  Rupoainj  noco  peoann 
bean  apejao  jan  ^aipe,  no  cpopc. 
"  The  grave  of  Mac  Rusdaing;  no  woman 
can  look  at  it  without  a  laugh  or  scream." 
-(T.) 

°  Cailli  Foc/t/adlt,  or  the  wood  of  Foch- 
ladh.  Sec  O'Donovan's  Ily-Fiachrach, 
p.  463,  where  the  situation  of  this  cele- 
brated wood  is  ascertained.  The  story  ot 
a  voice  from  the  wood  of  Fochladh  is  told 
in  the  Confessio  of  St.  Patrick,  the  Hymn 
of  St.  Fiech,  and  all  the  Lives  except  that 
attributed  to  Probus.  The  Confessio  does 
not  speak  of  the  voice  as  coming  from 
children,  and  neither  do  the  second  and 
fourth  Lives  in  Colgan.  This  was,  there- 
fore, probably  the  original  story ;  but 
Fiech  and  the  Tripartite  Life  speak  of  chil- 
dren; tnacpaio  Caille  fochlao  (Fiech, 
n.  8);  pueri  in  sylva  Fochladensi,  (Trip.  i. 
c.  30);  and  the  other  Lives  add  to  this 


203 


in  Meath,  no  woman  has  power  to  look  at  without  an  involuntary 
shriek,  or  a  loud,  foolish  laugh. 

xiii.  The  children  of  Cailli  Fochladh0,  viz.,  two  daughters,  Cre- 
bra  and  Lesra  were  their  names;  they  spoke  from  the  wornbs  of  their 
mothers,  and  what  they  said  was,  Come,  O  Saint  Patrick !  and 
save  us. 


that  they  were  children  yet  unborn ;  "  vox 
infantium  ex  uteris  matrum  ex  region- 
ibus  Connactorum  Hock  aillilo  fortaich 
[which  Colgan  interprets,  heu,  accede  hue 
fer  auxilium],  (Vit.  3"  c.  20);  infantuli 
Hiberni  maternis  uteris  inclusi  voce  clara 
clamantes,"  (Jocelin,  cap.  21).  The  scho- 
liast on  the  hymn  of  Fiech  gives  us  the 
names  of  these  children,  telling  us  more- 
over their  number  and  their  sex :  he  adds, 
that  their  voices  were  heard  throughout 
all  Ireland,  and  even  by  Pope  Celestin  at 
Home.  "  Ipse  Coelestinus  quando  ordina- 
batur  Patricius  audiebat  vocem  infantium 
eum  advocantium.  Infantes  autem,  do 
quibus  hie  sermo  est,  vocabantur  Crebrea 

et  Lessa,  dufe  filia;  Gleranni  filii 

Nenii ;  et  hodie  coluntur  ut  sanctffi,  et  ab 
ipso  Patricio  erant  baptizatro :  et  in  eccle- 
sia  de  Foreland  juxta  Muadium  fluvium 
[the  Moy]  ad  occidentem,  requiescunt. 
Qua;  autem  tune  in  ventre  matris  exis- 
tentes  dicebant,  erant  hasc:  Hibernienses 
omnes  clamant  ad  te.  Et  ha;c  ssepius 
ab  eis  decantata  audiebantur  per  Hiber- 
niam  totam  vel  usque  ad  ipsos  Romanes." 
Jocelin  (c.  59)  mentions  the  baptism  of 
the  daughters  of  Gleran,  and  tells  us  that 

2D 


XIV. 

they  were  the  same  who  had  called  St. 
Patrick  out  of  their  mother's  womb,  and 
that  they  afterwards  became  saints  ;  but 
he  does  not  give  their  names.  The  Tri- 
partite Life  gives  us  their  names,  and  al- 
though, in  the  place  already  cited,  the 
author  had  called  them  pueri,  and  in  ano- 
ther place  (ii.  c.  77)  he  speaks  of  mul- 
tos  infantes  in  utero  matrum  existentes, 
yet  here  (ii.  c.  86),  he  says :  "  Ibi  vir  sane- 
tus  baptizavit,  Deoque  consecravit  duas 
celebratse  sanctitatis  virgines  Crebream  et 
Lassaram,  Gleranno  viro  nobili  Cuminei 
filio  natas.  Ha;  sunt  qua;  inclusre  in  utero 
materno,  in  regione  de  Caille-Fochladh, 
referuntur  dudum  ante  in  persona  [i.  e. 
in  the  name  of,  or  on  behalf  of,]  infan- 
tium Ilibernia;  clamasse  ad  S.  Patricium, 
dum  esset  in  insulis  maris  Tyrrheni, 
efflagitando  ut  seposita  mora  ad  Ilibur- 
nos  convertendos  acccleraret:  earumque 
sacra;  exuvia;  ut  patronarum  loci,  in 
summa  veneratione  in  ecclesia  de  Kill- 
fhorclann  juxta  Muadium  versus  occi- 
dentem asservantur."  See  Ussher,  Prim, 
p.  832.  The  children  of  Caille  Fochladh 
are  not  mentioned  among  the  wonders  of 
Ireland  in  D.,  or  by  O'Flaherty (T.) 


2O4 

.jriu.  Sil  in  paelcon  i  n-Oppaigib  aca.  Qipoi  ingnao  acu. 
Oelbaic  lac  i  conaib  alcaio,  ~\  ciagaic  lac  i  conpeccaib, -|  oia 
mapbfap  me  •)  peoil  ma  m-belaib  ip  amlam  bio  na  cuipp  ap  a 
na^ac;  -]  aicmc  Dia  muir.cepaib  nap  pogltiaipcep  na  cuipp,  aip  Dia 
ri-gluaipcep  m  ficpaopum  cucu  pempep. 

.jcu.  Uopann  mop  no  caitjecc  i  n-aimpip  Oonncaib  mic  Domnaill 


'  Descendants  of  the  wolf. — This  story  is 
given  much  more  fully  in  D,  where  it 
stands  as  the  twenty-second  wonder: — 
Qtaic  apoile  Dame  a  n-Gipmo  .1.  pil 
f.uijne  paeluio  a  n-Oppaije,  ciu^aio  a 
pichemb  mac  cipe,  in  can  ip  ail  leo,  -\ 
mapbaio  na  h-mt>ile  po  bep  nu  mac 
tipe,  -|  pajbuio  a  cuppu  pein,  in  ran 
ciajaio  up  na  conpachcaibaichni^io  bin 
mumcepaib  can  a  coppu  oocumpcujub, 
up  DIU  cumpcuiocep  ni  pecpuo  ceachc 
capip  up  nu  coppaib  ;  -]  oia  cpechc- 
nuiigcep  amuich  beio  na  cpecca  pin  nu 
coppuib  unopna  ci^aib  -|  bi^  in  peoil 
oeap^j  cuicam  amuich  ana  piuclaib. 
"There  are  certain  people  in  Kri,  viz.: 
the  race  of  Laiglme  Faelaidh,  in  Ossory, 
they  pass  into  the  forms  of  wolves  when- 
ever they  please,  and  kill  cattle  according 
to  the  custom  of  wolves,  and  they  quit 
their  own  bodies;  when  they  go  forth  in 
the  wolf-forms,  they  charge  their  friends 
not  to  remove  their  bodies,  for  if  they  are 
moved  they  will  not  be  able  to  come 
;igaiii  into  their  bodies  ;  and  if  they  are 
wounded  while  abroad,  the  same  wounds 
will  be  on  their  bodies  in  their  houses; 
and  the  raw  flesh  devoured  while  abroad 


mic 

will  be  in  their  teeth."  Giraldus  Cambren- 
sis  tells  a  story  of  two  wolves  who  had 
been  a  man  and  woman  of  the  Ossorians, 
but  were  transformed  into  wolves  every 
seven  years,  in  virtue  of  a  jcurse  imposed 
on  their  race  by  Saint  Naal  or  Natalis, 
abbot  of  *Cill-na-managh,  or  Kilmanagh, 
in   the  Co.  Kilkenny,  who  flourished  in 
the  sixth  century.     They  had  been  ba- 
nished to  Meath,  where  they  met  a  priest 
in  a  wood,  a  short  time  before  Earl  John 
carne  to  Ireland  in  the  reign  of  Henry  II., 
and   retaining,  it   seems,   the  use  of  lan- 
guage,  they  foretold  the  conquest  of  Ire- 
land by  the  English.     The  following  is  a 
part  of  what  the  wolf  said  to  the  priest: 
"  De   quodiun    hominum    genere    sumus 
Ossyriensium ;    vnde    quolibet    septennio 
per  imprecationem  saneti  cuiusdam  Nata- 
lis  scilicet   Abbatis,   duo,  videlicet,  mas 
ft  foemina,  tarn  a   formis,    quam  tinibus 
exulare  coguntur.     Formarn  enim  huma- 
nam  prorsus  cxuentes  induunt  lupinam. 
Complete   vt-ro   septennii  spacio,  si  forte 
superstites  fuerint,  aliis  duobus  ipsorum 
loco  simili  conditione  subrogatis,  ad  pris- 
tinam  redeunt  tarn  patriam  quam  natn- 
ram." — Top.  Dint.  2,  c.  19. 


205 

xiv.  The  descendants  of  the  wolf  are  in  Ossory.  They  have 
a  wonderful  property.  They  transform  themselves  into  wolves,  and 
go  forth  in  the  form  of  wolves,  and  if  they  happen  to  be  killed  with 
flesh  in  their  mouths,  it  is  in  the  same  condition  that  the  bodies  out 
of  which  they  have  come  will  be  found ;  and  they  command  their 
families  not  to  remove  their  bodies,  because  if  they  were  moved, 
they  could  never  come  into  them  again. 

xv.  Great  thunder  happened  in  the  time  of  Donoghq,  son  of 

Donall, 


Cambrensis,  whose  credulity  was  un- 
bounded, gave  full  credit  to  this  strange 
tale.  Not  so  Fyncs  Moryson,  who  holds 
it  up  to  ridicule;  but  it  appears  from 
what  he  says,  that  the  tale  was  currently 
believed  in  his  time:  "  It  is  rediculous," 
(he  says),  "which  some  Irish  (who  will  be 
believed  as  men  of  credit)  report  of  men 
in  these  parts  [Upper  Ossory  and  Or- 
mond]  yeerely  turned  into  wolves,  except 
the  aboundance  of  melancholy  humour 
transports  them  to  imagine  that  they  are 
so  transformed." — Itin.  p.  iii.,  c.  5,  p.  157. 
— (T.)  For  the  legends  and  facts  con- 
cerning this  strange  and  widely-diffused 
class  of  demoniacs  or  melancholies,  con- 
sult Herodotus,  iv.  105;  Pliny,  viii.  22; 
Olaus  Magnus,  de  Gent.  Septentr.  lib.  xviii. 
cap.  45-7 ;  Gervas  Tilbur.  Otia  Imper.  i. 
c.  15;  Marie  de  France,  Lai  du  Bisclaveret, 
i.  p.  178  ;  William  and  the  Werwolf, 
Lond.,  1832;  P.  Lancre  Tableau,  etc.  des 
Mauvais  Anges,  pp.  259,309;  Hakewill's 
Apologie,  i.  cap.  i.  s.  6;  Boguet  Discours 
des  Sorciers,  cap.  liii. ;  Verstegan's  Resti- 
tution, p.  237;  Life  of  Nathaniel  Pearce, 


i.  pp.  287-9;  "•  P-  34°—  (H-) 

q  Donogh. — Donogh,  son  of  Donall,  son 
of  Murrough,  was  king  of  Ireland  from 
A.  D.  770  to  797,  according  to  O'Fla- 
herty's  chronology,  Ogyg.,  p.  433.  The 
Four  Masters  have  placed  the  great  storm, 
here  counted  as  one  of  the  wonders  of 
Ireland,  under  the  year  799;  their  words 
are:  Uapla  jaech  anbpoill,  coipneac  -| 
cemocpe:ic  ip  in  lo  pia  peil  puopmct: 
na  bliiion  i  po,  co  po  mapbuo  oeicne- 
Bap  ap  mile  hi  epic  Copcubmpcmo,  -| 
co  po  punt>  an  muip  oilen  picue  i  cpi 
panociib'.  "A  violent  wind,  thunder,  ami 
lightning  occurred  this  year  on  the  day 
before  the  feast  of  Patrick,  so  that  a 
thousand  and  ten  men  were  killed  in  the 
territory  of  Corco  Bhaiscin ;  and  the  sen 
divided  the  island  of  Fitae  into  three 
parts."  The  island  of  Fithi  is  a  small 
island,  now  called  Mutton  Island,  on  the 
coast  of  the  county  of  Clare,  opposite  Kil- 
murry  Ibrickin.  The  two  other  parts  of 
the  original  island  are  still  to  be  seen 
near  it;  they  are  insignificant  islets,  or 
rather  lofty  masses  of  rock,  close  to  Mut- 


206 


rtoip.  pep  cen  ceno  ppi  pe 
.1.  TYlaelcamain.  In  call  no 

jac  laojia  lam  ~\  cop  On.  In 
pepp  i  ni  clopp  DO  aonacul 

bpaena  pola  oepjje  caipip, 

ime.     Cuig  cpai^i   oej;  ina 


mic  TTIupchaiD  pig  Gpenn,  ^up  mapb  .;rup.  ap  mill  i   epic   Copco 
bcnpcino  ~]  co  po  pann  innpi  pici  i  cpi. 

.;rui.   t~pi  li-inganra  la  Cluam  nuc 
pecc  m-blia6an.     Ince  t>ucuc  a  amm 
reD  pon  SinainD  co  cabpao  lep  epcunj 
c-aonacul  po  clap  i  Cluain  beup  -]  ni 
ann,  i    po   ppic  pep  mop-ulcac  im>,  ~| 
bappac  uip-beifi  Do  pcuabaib  cenjail 
poo,  i  .ppF-  cpoi^eD  DO  ralam  uapu. 

.jeun.  Loc  Lai^  i   epic  Umaill  la  Connacco  DO  ehio  yiap  co 
muip  nao  bai  De  ace  a  larpach. 


ton  Island.  Mr.  O'Donovan  remarks,  in 
a  communication  to  the  Editor,  that  the 
barony  of  Ibrickin  was  originally  a  part 
of  Corco-Bhaiscin,  before  the  Ui  Bracain, 
or  Mac  Gormans,  settled  in  that  country. 
This  i'act  appears  from  the  position  of 
Mutton  Island,  which  is  here,  and  by  the 
Four  Masters,  said  to  be  in  Corco-Bhais- 
cin,  and  also  from  the  Life  of  St.  Senan, 
who  was  the  patron  of  the  Coreo-Bhaiscin 
race.—  (T.) 

'  Clonmacnois. — The  first  of  these  three 
wonders  is  the  twenty-third  wonder  of 
Ireland  in  D. :  Ro  bui  on  me  u  Cluuni- 
mic-noip,  lup  ceucc  a  cino  oe  cpe 
cpeblaiD,  ~\  po  bai  .un.  m-bliuona  'nu 
beardi^  lap  pn,  cpe  nu  liitioe,  no  cuin- 
j;eao  biab  -\  no  caicliei  b.  "  There  was 
a  man  at  Clonmacnois,  after  his  head 
came  off  through  disease,  and  he  was 
seven  years  afterwards  living  ;  through 
his  trunk  he  called  for  food  and  con- 
sumed it."  The  same  story  is  told  by 


Tighernach,  ad  an.  549,  and  by  Keating 
under  the  reign  of  Tuathal  Maelgarbh 
(A.  D.  533-544),  who  tells  us  that  this 
headless  wonder  lived  in  that  state  for 
four  years  among  the  monks  of  Clonmac- 
nois, his  head  having  dropped  off  at  the 
fair  of  Tailten,  in  consequence  of  his 
having  sworn  falsely  on  the  relic  called 
the  hand  of  St.  Kieran.  This  story  is 
certainly  of  great  antiquity,  and  was  once 
extensively  believed;  it  probably  origi- 
nated in  a  figurative  mode  of  describing 
a  loss  of  memory  or  reason,  or  some  eccle- 
siastical or  spiritual  defect.  In  a  note  at 
August  4,  in  the  Felire  of  Aengus,  a  story- 
is  told  of  St.  Molua,  who  went  into  a 
church  with  St.  Comgall,  and,  to  their 
astonishment,  every  one  in  the  church, 
including  Comgall  and  Molua  themselves, 
appeared  headless.  The  following  expla- 
nation of  this  appearance  is  then  given: 
Ip  oe  aca  po  ap  Cornwall  .1.  m-anrnch- 
apapu  arbuch,  -|  a  cupu  cen  cheano,  i 


207 

Donall,  son  of  Murrough,  king  of  Ireland,  which  killed  one  thousand 
and  ten  persons  in  the  territory  of  Corco  Baiscinn,  and  divided  Inis- 
Fithi  into  three  parts. 

xvi.  Three  wonders  at  Clonmacnoisr.  A  man  without  a  head 
during  the  space  of  seven  years.  Inte  Bucuc5  was  his  name,  i.  e. 
Maltamain.  The  blind  man  who  used  to  dive  into  the  Shannon  and 
bring  forth  an  eel  in  each  of  the  forks  of  his  hands  and  feet.  The  grave' 
which  was  dug  in  Cluain,  and  it  was  not  known  or  heard  that  there 
was  an  interment  there,  and  there  was  a  great-bearded  man  found  in 
it,  covered  with  drops  of  red  blood,  and  a  covering  of  green  birch 
brooms  about  him.  Fifteen  feet  long  was  he,  and  there  were  thirty 
feet  of  earth  over  him. 

xvii.  Loch  Laigh",  in  the  territory  of  Umaile,  in  Cormaght.  ran 
off  into  the  sea,  so  that  nothing  of  it  remained  but  its  place. 

xviii. 


u  cachaipi  cen  chino;  up  if  colano  cen 
cheno  bmne  cen  anmcapaic.  "  The 
reason  of  this,"  said Comgall,  "is  the  death 
of  my  spiritual  director;  and  I  am  with- 
out a  head,  and  ye  are  without  heads, 
because  a  man  without  a  spiritual  direc- 
tor is  a  man  without  a  head."  Comgall 
then  appoints  Molua  his  confessor,  and 
immediately  the  congregation  appears  to 
him  with  heads  as  usual. — (T.) 

5  Inte  Bucuc. — Keating  calls  him  Aba- 
cue;  the  word  inte  signifies  "the  man," 
or  "  the  individual,"  and  is  a  title  used 
much  as  we  now  use  "Mr.,"  or  as  Domi- 
nus  was  used  to  monks  and  the  clergy. 
-(T.) 

'  The  grave. — This  and  the  foregoing 
wonder  are  omitted  in  D.  The  story  of 
the  blind  fisherman  is  not  told  elsewhere, 


as  far  as  the  Editor  knows.  The  legend 
of  the  giant's  grave  appears  to  be  con- 
nected with  the  adventure  of  the  poet 
Mac  Caisi,  which  will  be  found  in  the 
note,  p.  210 — (T.) 

u  Loch  Laigh,  a  lake  in  the  territory 
of  Umhaile,  the  ancient  country  of  the 
O'Malleys,  anglicised  "  the  Owles,"  a  dis- 
trict comprising  the  barony  of  Murrisk 
(called  uriiall  uucepac,  or  the  upper),  and 
the  barony  of  Burrishoole  (called  urhull 
loccpac,  the  lower),  in  thecounty  of  Mayo. 
See  Q'Donovan's  Hy-Fiachrach,  p.  499, 
and  the  map.  The  disappearance  of  Loch 
Laigh  is  recorded  by  the  Four  Masters  at 
the  year  848  :  Loc  (,ao\%  hi  epic  Lima  ill 
la  Connace  DO  eluo.  "  Loch  Laoigh.  in 
the  territory  of  Umhaill,  in  Connaught, 
ran  off,"  [or  was  evaporated].— (2'.) 


208 


.;runi.  Coc  (,eibino  DO  puuo  i  puil  pyii  .ipr.  oe  cono  pala  i  paip- 
cib  cpo  amail  pcamu  cec  bpuifi. 

.jcijr.  P|iop  pola  oo  peprain  i  n-aimpip  Qeoa  mic  Neill,  co 
ppir  a  paipce  cpo  pola  popp  r.a  muigib  un  Cianacc  oc  Oumu  in 
Oeppa. 

.pp.  In   mac  becc  DO  labpao  i  Cpaeb  Laippe  oia  mip  lap  na 

copo  cupca  pcela  imoa. 

.;r;ci.  In  apaili  lo  po  bui  in  pib  TTlac  Coipi  ic  con  boinn  como  pac- 

caba 


T  Loch  Leibhinn,  now  Loch  Leane,  about 
a  mile  from  Fore,  in  the  north-east  of  the 
county  of  Westmeath.  The  miraculous 
change  of  its  waters  into  blood  is  recorded 
by  the  Four  Masters  at  the  year  864. 
f,oc\t  6ephmt>  bo  paob  hi  puil;  u  caplu 
cue  com  bo  pmpce  cpo  amuil  pcuma 
a  imeaccaip.  "  Loch  Lephinn  was  con- 
verted into  blood ;  so  that  it  appeared  as 
sods  of  gore,  like  entrails,  all  round  its 
edge."  Dermot,  son  of  Aodh  Slaine, 
king  of  Meath,  and  afterwards  (A.  D.  658, 
Ogyg.  p.  43),  in  conjunction  with  Blath- 
mac,  king  of  Ireland,  had  his  residence  in 
an  island  on  this  lake,  in  the  time  of  St. 
Fechin  of  Fore.  Vit.  S.  Fcchini,  c.  23. 
Colgan,  ad  20  Jan.  p.  135 — (T.) 

*  Dumha  Dessa,  i.  e.  the  monumental 
mound  or  tumulus  of  Dess,  the  exact  site 
of  which  has  not  been  ascertained;  but 
Mr.  O'Donov&n  thinks  it  is  probably  si- 
tuated in  Cianachta  Breagh,  near  Duleek, 
in  the  county  Meath.  The  bloody  shower 
is  thus  described  by  the  Four  Masters  at 
the  year  875.  "fiatr  mop,  ceinceac,  -] 
coipneuc  i  n-Gpino  a  bliuoun  p,  -\  po 


peapub  ppopa  pola  iapum,  5un  Bo  pop- 
peil  puipre  cpo  -|  polu  poppna  mai^ib  i 
Ciciiiuccci  oc  Ouinumbeppu.  "  A  great 
wind,  lightnings,  and  thunder,  in  Ireland 
this  year,  and  there  fell  a  shower  of  blood 
afterwards,  and  particles  of  blood  and 
gore  were  found  on  the  fields  in  Ciann- 
achta,  at  Duinhan  Dessa." — (T.) 

x  Craebh  Lasre,  i.  e.  Arbor  Lassarse,  the 
tree  of  St.  Lasair,  the  name  of  a  monas- 
tery near  Clonmacnois,  of  which  St.  Air- 
meadhach  (Krmedus  or  Hermetius),  who 
died  A.D.  681,  was  the  founder  and  pa- 
tron. O'Clery's  Calend.  at  ist  Jan.  Col- 
gan, Trias  Thiturn.,  p.  172,  n.  45.  Four 
Masters,  at  the  years  681  and  882.  The 
Annals  of  Clonmacnois  (Mageoghegan's 
transl.),  record  the  birth  of  the  wonder- 
ful child  at  the  year  870,  in  these  words: 
"  There  was  a  chield  borne  at  Crewelas- 
ragh,  near  Clonvicknose,  this  year,  who 
was  heard  to  call  upon  God  by  distinct 
words,  saying  Good  God  in  Irish,  being 
but  of  the  age  of  two  months."  This 
event  is  also  recorded  in  the  Annals  of 
Ulster,  at  the  year  883,  and  by  the  Four 


209 


xviii.  Loch  Leibinnv  changed  into  blood  during  nine  days,  so 
that  it  became  sods  of  blood  like  unto  parboiled  entrails. 

xix.  A  shower  of  blood  was  shed  in  the  time  of  Hugh,  son  of 
Niall,  so  that  sods  of  blood  were  found  about  Cianacht,  at  Dumha 
Dessa". 

xx.  The  infant  boy  who  spoke  at  Craebh  Lasrex  in  a  month 
after  his  birth,  and  who  disclosed  many  tidings. 

xxi.  On  a  certain  day  the  poet  Mac  Coisiy  was  at  the  Boyne, 

where 


Masters  at  882:  lilac  occ  bo  la  bpaocc 
Cpaoibh  £aippe  oia  oa  niiop  lap  na  jei- 
nem.  "  A  young  boy  spoke  at  Craoibh 
Laisro  within  two  months  after  his  birth." 
-(T.) 

JMac  Coisi. — This  was  probably  intend- 
ed for  the  Erard  or  Urard  Mac  Coisi,  who 
was  chief  poet  to  Ferghal  O'Eourke,  king 
of  Connaught,  and  died  at  Clonmacnois,  in 
the  year  983,  according  to  Mageoghegan's 
Annals,  or  in  990,  according  to  Tigher- 
nach.  There  was  another  poet  named 
Erard  Mac  Coisi,  who  died  in  1023,  ac- 
cordinsr  to  the  Annals  of  the  Four  Mas- 

O 

ters,  and  was  chief  poet  to  king  Mael- 
seachlainn  (or  Malachy)  II.  See  O'Reilly's 
Writers,  ad  ann.  990  and  1023.  This  is 
the  24th  wonder  in  D.,  and  is  thus  given: 
13  o  bai  in  pile  tTlap  Coipi  la  ann  pop 
bpu  na  &oinbe,  co  pacaio  na  h-ela  pop 
f>omo  copbib'puij  h-en  bib,  in  can  bo 
pucaib  appeao  po  bai  ann  bean  ;  cop 
i  appaig  in  pilio  01  CID  pobich  ann  puo; 
a  n-galap  qiom  up  pi  DO  buoup,  -|  ba 
b6i£  le  muincep  oo  cuabup  eg  copum 
rucpac  oemna  ipm  picrpa.  Rue  in  pilio 
IRISH  AliCH.  SOC.  l6.  2 


leip  h-i  i  chu^  oa  mumrip  pein  lap  pin. 
"  The  poet  Mac  Coisi  was  once  on  the 
bank  of  the  Boyne,  when  he  saw  the 
swans  on  the  Boyne;  he  shot  one  of  them, 
and  when  he  took  it  up  lie  found  that  it 
was  a  woman.  The  poet  asked  her  where- 
fore she  was  there.  I  was  in  grievous  sick- 
ness, said  she,  and  it  was  supposed  by  my 
people  that  I  died,  but  demons  put  me 
into  this  shape.  The  poet  took  her 
with  him,  and  restored  her  to  her  own 
people  afterwards."  Stories  of  this  kind, 
in  which  the  agents  are  supposed  to  lie 
the  fairies,  arc  common  to  this  day  in 
every  part  of  Ireland.  A  full  and  very  par- 
ticular account  of  Mac  Coisi's  adventure  is 
to  be  found  in  a  legend  transcribed  by  Mr. 
Eugene  Curry,  from  a  MS.  in  the  posses- 
sion of  Mr.  John  Kennedy,  of  Dublin. 
The  story  is  too  long  for  insertion  here,  but 
it  differs  very  much  from  that  given  in  the 
text,  if  indeed  it  be  not  a  different  adven- 
ture of  the  same  poet ;  it  places  the  event 
in  the  reign  of  Congalach,  son  of"  Maelmi- 
thigh  (seen.3,  p.  21 1).  Mae  Coisi  was  on  the 
bank  of  Loch  Lebhinu  (now  Loch  Leane, 
E 


2IO 


caba  in  elcai  n-eala  co  caplaicc  cloic  ooib,  co  po  ben  t>ap  pceic 
eala  Dib;  pechip  Dia  jabail  lapooain,  ~\  oocep  Do  copoba  ben,  ~| 
coma  poacc  pcela  uaioi  cio  Do  pala  t>i,  -[  can  imup  tuaioi;  -]  ao- 
peopi,  DO  i  n-jatap  ba,olpi,  ~|  DO  cep  Do  muinncip  co  n-epbalup,  -| 
ipeb  apaiDi  ip  oeamna  pom  aipcellpac  teo ;  -\  pop  caoban  in  pill 
oia  muincip. 

.;c;ni.  Oa  copup  pileo  i  n-Qipcepaib  o  Gpt>  TTlaca  paip;  mapb 
po  cecoip  in  ci  blaipep  in  Dala  nai.  Oia  pillcep  umoppo  po  cpi 
pop  pin  copup  n-aili  acpaig  con  baiDi  in  ci  na  n-oeca,  conao  aip  nac 
lamaiD  oaene  a  raoall  ace  minep  cesmaD  cpoich. 

.jf^in.  Congalac  mac  ITIailmichij;  bai  in  aenac  ^xjillcen  in 
apaili  lo,  co  paccaio  in  loingiap  pan  aeop,  co  caplaic  aen  Dib  501 
i  n-Diaio  bpaccain;  rappapaip  in  jae  i  piaonaipi  in  aenaij,  co  cainic 
t>uine  ap  in  luinj  ma  DiaiD;  in  can  po  gab  a  inn  anuap  ip  ann  pojab 

in 

was  not  to  be  found.  This  logond  bears 
a  curious  resemblance  to  some  circum- 
stances in  Sir  Walter  Scott's  beautiful 
fiction  of  the  White  Lady  of  Avenel. — (T.) 
z  Airtltera — The  district  now  called 
Orior,  regio  orientalium,  containing  two 
baronies  of  the  Co.  Armagh.  The  wells 
here  spoken  of  are  now  forgotten,  and 
have  lost  their  terrors.  This  is  the  four- 
teenth wonder  in  D.,  and  is  somewhat 
differently  described,  thus  :  Qcnic  ou 
cibpaio  a  n-Oippceapaib  .1.  o  Qpo  TTlcica 
foip,  in  ci  ibeap  uipci  in  oapa  cibpao  bio 
cpu,  -|  bio  paejluch,  in  ci  ibeap  apoile, 
1  rii  peap  nechcap  bib  pec  a  ceile,  conub 
aipe  pin  nu  latnap  uipce  necruip  oib 
o'ol.  "  There  are  two  wells  in  Oirthear, 
viz.,  east  of  Ardmacha ;  the  person  that 
drinks  the  water  of  one  of  the  wells  will 


near  Fore,  Co.  Westmeath),  when  he  saw 
a  beautiful  woman,  of  great  size,  "beyond 
that  of  the  women  of  the  time,"  dressed 
in  green,  sitting  alone,  and  weeping  bit- 
terly. He  approached  her,  and  she  told 
him  that  her  husband  had  that  day  been 
killed  at  Sidh  Chudail,  and  was  buried  at 
Clonmacnois.  Mac  Coisi  mentioned  this 
to  king  Congalach,  who  set  out  to  Clon- 
macnois to  test  the  truth  of  the  story. 
The  clergy  there  could  give  no  account 
of  it;  but  a  monk  died  that  night,  and  on 
digging  his  grave  they  found  fresh  blood 
and  leaves,  and  at  length,  buried  very 
deep,  with  his  face  down,  the  corpse  of  a 
giant  twenty-five  feet  in  height.  They 
put  the  body  down  again,  and  the  next 
day,  on  opening  the  grave,  which  to  all  ap- 
pearance was  as  they  had  left  it,  the  corpse 


21  I 

where  he  perceived  a  flock  of  swans  ;  whereupon  he  threw  a  stone 
at  them,  and  it  struck  one  of  the  swans  on  the  wing.  He  quickly 
ran  to  catch  it,  and  perceived  that  it  was  a  woman.  He  inquired 
tidings  from  her,  and  what  had  happened  unto  her,  and  what  it  was 
that  sent  her  thus  forth.  And  she  answered  him:  "In  sickness  I 
was,"  said  she,  "  and  it  appeared  to  my  friends  that  I  died,  but  really 
it  was  demons  that  spirited  me  away  with  them."  And  the  poet 
restored  her  to  her  people. 

xxii.  There  are  two  wells  in  Airthera2,  to  the  eastward  of 
Ardmacha.  He  who  tastes  of  the  one  of  them  is  immediately  dead. 
If  the  other  well  is  gazed  upon  three  times,  it  immediately  swells, 
and  drowns  the  person  who  so  gazes.  Hence  it  is  that  people  dare 
not  toucli  them,  except  wretches  [i.  e.  the  desperate]  alone. 

xxiii.  Congalach",  son  of  Mailmithigh,  was  at  the  fair  of  Taill- 
ten  on  a  certain  day,  and  he  perceived  a  ship  in  the  air.  He  saw  one 
of  them  [the  crew]  cast  a  dart  at  a  salmon.  The  dart  fell  down 
in  the  presence  of  the  fair,  and  a  man  came  out  of  the  ship  after  it. 
When  his  head  came  down  it  was  caught  by  a  man  from  below. 

Upon 

be  poor,  and  the  person  that  drinks  the  twenty-fifth  wonder  in  D.,   and  is  thus 

other  will  be  rich ;  and  no  one  knows  one  related:   6ai   Conjaluch  mac    muilmi- 

of  them  from  the  other,  and  therefore  no  ehij  co  popmnu  peap  n-Cpeano  uime  la 

person  dares  drink  the  water  of  either  of  arm  a  n-aenach,  co    pacaoap   in  luinj 

them." — (T.)  upunaep  co  capplaij  peap  aipoe,  .1.  appin 

a  Congalach — He  was  king  of  Ireland  luinj,   jablach   a   n-oeagaij   bpuoain; 

from  A.  D.  944  to  956,  in  which  year  he  co  cappld  ann   pin   n-oipeoccup  in   pij. 

was  killed  by  the  Danes. — Ogyg.  p.  435.  "Congalach,   son  of  Mailmithigh,    with 

The  fair,  or  rather  public  sports  of  Taill-  the  greater  part  of  the  men  of  Eri  around 

tenn,  now  Telltown,  near  Navan,  in  the  him  there,  was  at  the  fair,  when  they  saw 

county  of  Meath,  were  celebrated,  and  con-  a  ship  in  the  air,   and  a  man  out  of  it, 

tinued  to  be  frequented  by  all  ranks,  until  i.  e.,  out  of  the  ship,  cast  a  fork  against  a 

the  reign  of  Eoderic  O'Conor,  who  died  salmon.     There  happened  to  be  there  an 

A.  D.  1198.  This  unmeaning  story  is  the  assembly  of  the  king." — (T.) 

2  E  2 


212 

in  pep  anip.  Co  n-Debepc  in  pen  anuap,  acacap  icom  haouo  a|i 
pe.  Cec  uair  no  ap  Congalac,  -j  lecaip  pimp  -\  ceio  uaiDib  pop 
pnam  lapcain. 

.perm.  Gpaili  ailicip  DO  ^aiDelaib  DO  pala  Do  Uoipimp  TTlap- 
cain  ic  ciaccam  o  Roitn,  coino  pacca  a  maraip  ic  pooail  loma  ~| 
peola  DO  boccaib  in  coimt>er>,  cocall  uaiDi  popcle  in  mniDi  i  m-boi 
in  loim,  i  po  bai  ica  tappaiD  ina  piaonaipi;  ~\  m  oecaio  in  macliaip 
innonn  erep  ace  a  Pop  ailirip  DO  pigni  a  pooail;  i  ap  onoip  TYlap- 
cain  Do  jiigne,  ~\  pi  Ccnncigepn  maraip  liui  Oanjail  mic  baeramnap 
Do  pijne  in  poocul;  ~\  po  caipperi  Dia  maraip  in  paipcle  lap  m-blia- 
Dam  lap  COIDCCC  anall  DO,  -|  cue  pi  aicm  paip,  ~\  ba  cuimpi  Dia 
muibi  pen,  coniD  DC  pin  ap  pollup  j^ac  poDail  Do  jnirep  a  n-uaim 
Tllapcam  co  n-jeb  j^peim  i  Uoipinip  TTlapcam. 

.pr^u.  In  lanamain  beo  ppi  Cluain  ipaipoanaip.  6ablu  -]  6iblu 
a  n-anmann 

.^ui.  Cloc  pil  i  all  i  n-UUcaib,  ipi  a  li-uipci,  Dia  cpeccap  in 
cell  puil  Dei  reipeppm  epn  cpi  cpar  poimi. 

.jrprini.  (.oc  Suini  Onjiam  i  pleib  5l)anie  °°  e^l1D  co  n-oechm6  ip 

in  Pebail. 

pcpcuin. 

^Torinis  of  Martin,  i.  c.  Tours  in  France.  Cantighern,  tliiughter  of  Guaire  O'Loclit- 

The  uaimli,  or  Cave  of  St.  Martin  was  nain,    and    wile     or    mistress    to   Flaini 

probably  Desertmartin,  in  the  county  of  O'Maelsheachlain.  Guaire,  her  father,  was 

Londonderry,    where   the    memory  of  St.  a  lector    in   Clonmacnois,    and   died,    ac- 

INIartin  was  held  in  great  veneration.     Of  cording  to  the  Four  Masters,    in    1054. 

Uadangal,  son  of  Baethamhnas,  mentioned  The  third  was  Caintighern,  a  daughter  of 

in  this  legend,  nothing  is  known.     In  the  Cellach   Cualann  of  Leinster.     She  died, 

ancient  tract  on  the  names  of  celebrated  according  to  the  Four  Masters,  in  728 

Irish  women,   preserved  in   the   Book  of  (T.) 

Lecan  (fol.  193-202),  three  women  of  the          c  Jiablu  and  Biblu. — Nothing  is  known 

name  Cantighern  are  mentioned.  One  was  of  this  couple  beyond  what  is  here  said, 

the  wife  of  Fiaclma,  son  of  Baedan,  king  The  meaning  probably  is  that  they  conti- 

of  Ulidia,  who  was  killed,  according  to  the  nue  still  alive,   like   the  tradition  about 

Four  Masters,  A.  D.  622.     Another   was  Nero,  Arthur  in  Avallon,  &c. (T.) 


213 

Upon  which  the  man  from  above  said,  "  I  am  being  drowned,"  said 
he.  "  Let  him  go,"  said  Congalach  ;  and  he  was  allowed  to  come  up, 
and  he  went  away  from  them,  swimming  in  the  air,  afterwards. 

xxiv.  A  certain  pilgrim  of  the  Gaedhelians  happened  to  arrive 
at  Torinis  of  Martin,  on  his  way  from  Rome.  There  he  saw  his 
mother  distributing  milk  and  flesh  meat  to  the  poor  of  the  Lord. 
He  took  away  from  her  the  cover  of  the  muidh  [vessel]  which  con- 
tained the  milk,  and  she  was  looking  for  it  in  his  presence.  Arid 
the  mother  had  not  gone  thither  at  all,  but  it  was  in  Eos  Ailither 
she  made  her  distribution  at  home.  And  it  was  in  honour  of  Martin 
she  made  it.  And  it  was  Cantighern,  mother  of  Ua  Dangal,  son  of 
Baethamhnas,  that  made  the  distribution.  And  he  shewed  the  cover 
of  the  vessel  to  his  mother  in  a  year  after  his  coming  home,  and 
she  recognised  it,  and  it  fitted  exactly  her  own  muidh.  So  that 
it  is  manifest  from  this  that  every  distribution  of  alms  that  is  made 
in  Martin's  Cave  is  as  effectual  as  if  distributed  at  Toirinis  of 
Martin". 

xxv.  The  couple  [man  and  wife}  who  are  alive  to  the  east  of 
Clonard.  Bablu  and  Bibluc  are  their  names. 

xxvi.  There  is  a  stoned  in  a  church  in  Ulster  whose  practice 
it  is  to  shed  blood  three  clays  previous  to  a  plunder  of  the  church. 

xxvii.  The  lake  of  Suidhe  Odhraine,  in  Sliabh  (i-uaire,  migrated 
and  went  into  the  Fabhal. 

xxviii. 

d  A  stone. — This  is  the  twenty-seventh  dered." — (T.) 

wonder   in    I),    where  it   is  thus   given:  e  Suidhe  Odhrain,  i.  e.,   Sessio  Odrani, 

Qcu  cloc  anu  paile   ceall  u  n-Ullcuib,  now   anglicised  Syoran  or  Seeoran,   is  a 

-|  cij  pull  dp  in  cloc  in  cun  uipjceap  in  townland  in   the  parish   of  Kuockbride, 

chill,   no  pe  nu  n-apjuin.     "  There  is  a  barony  of  Clankee,  county  Cavau.  Sliubh 

stone  in  a  certain  church  in  Ulster,    and  Guaire,   now  Slieve  Gorey,  is  the  name 

blood   comes  out  of  the  stone   when  the  still  given  to  a  mountainous  district,  in 

vhurch  is  plundered,  or  before  it  is  plun-  the  same  barony.     The  Fabhal  (read  pu- 


214 

.  Cpop  cloici  mop  bai  pop  paicci  Slaine  i  m-bpejaib  DO 
cumjabail  ip  in  aeop,  ~\  a  combac  ip  in  aeop,  gup  pancacop  a  buip 
1  a  bloga  Uaillcin  -|  Cempaij  -|  pinoabaip  n-aba. 

.jcjrijc.  Cippa  TTlailsobannillai^nib;  in  Dec  plepcac  a  h-cnnm; 
op  abairin  dpi  aca  ;  pi  a  h-cnpoi  in  plepc  uinopenO  cupcap  inci 
DO  ni  plepc  cuill,  Di  po  cecoip,  maou  coll  pocepDap  inci  ip  uinopi- 
»nn  DO  poaig  epn. 

.fff.  Cloicreach  ceneab  Do  aicpin  ic  17up  Dela  ppi  pe  .ijc. 
n-uap,i  coin  Duba  Diaipimoe  ap,  ~\  aen  en  mopecuppu,  •)  no  cegDip 

na 


bull,  for  Pebal,  in  the  Irish  text,)  is  the 
name  of  a  stream  tributary  to  the  Boyiie. 
The  emigration  of  this  lake  is  thus  re- 
corded, at  the  year  1054,  by  the  Four 
Masters:  6och  Suibe  Oopam  hi  Sleib 
^uuipe  u  eluo  in  oeipio  oioce  peile 
niicil  con-Oeacuio  ip  in  peulxull,  ^up 
blio  hionjnub  mop  la  each.  "  The  lake 
of  Suidhre  OJhrain,  in  Sleibh  Guaire, 
migrated  on  the  latter  part  of  the  night 
of  St.  Michael's  eve,  until  it  came  into 
the  Fabhall,  which  was  a  great  wonder 
to  all."  See  also  the  Annals  of  Ulster  at 
A.  D.  1054.  There  is  no  lake,  or  tradi- 
tion of  a  lake,  now  in  this  townland — 
(T.) 

!  Slaine,  now  Slane,  a  village  on  the 
Boyne,  county  Meath,  in  the  ancient  dis- 
trict of  Bregio — (T.) 

8  Finnabhair-abha,  i.  e.  the  Bright  Field 
of  the  Kiver,  now  Feunor,  a  townland 
giving  name  to  a  parish  in  the  barony  of 
Duleek,  county  Meath.  Several  places  in 
Ireland  were  called  Finnabhair,  which 


Jocelin,  Vit.  S.  Patr.  c.  94,  translates, 
"albus  campus;"  the  place  there  spoken 
of,  and  in  the  Tripartite  Life  (part  iii., 
c.  4),  was  in  the  diocese  of  Clogher;  but 
Fiunabhair  Abba  was  evidently  in  Meath, 
as  appears  from  its  being  mentioned  in  the 
text  in  connexion  with  Slane,  Telltown,  and 
Tara;  and  in  the  following  passage  from 
the  Calendar  of  the  O'Clerys,  it  is  said  to 
be  on  the  Kiver  Boyne:  2  Mali.  Neuc- 
cuin,  oeipjiobuilpuopuic,  o  CiUUmche 
i  j-Connuillib  muipreirhne,  -|  o  pion- 
nabalp  obu  pop  bpu  ftomne.  Plluc  DO 
f,iariinm  puip  puopmc  e.  "  Mail  2. 
Neachtain,  a  disciple  of  St.  Patrick,  of 
Gill  Uinche  in  Conaille  Muirtheimhne, 
and  of  Fionnabhair-abha,  on  the  banks  of 
the  Boyne.  He  was  the  son  of  Leamhan, 
the  sister  of  Patrick."  In  a  gloss  on  the 
name  of  this  place  in  the  Felire  of  Aengus 
(ad  2  Mail),  it  is  said  to  be  i  m-6pea- 
jaib,  "in  Bregia;"  so  that  Finnabhar- 
abha  is  completely  identified  with  the 
modern  Fennor  in  Meath.  See  Ordnance 


2I5 

xxviii.  A  great  stone  cross  which  was  on  the  green  of  Slainef, 
in  Bregia,  was  taken  up  into  the  air,  and  was  shattered  in  the  air,  so 
that  its  shreds  and  fragments  were  carried  to  Tailten,  to  Tara,  and 
to  Finnabhair  abhas. 

xxix.  The  well  of  Maell-Gobhann",  in  Leinster.  The  Deach- 
Fleseach  [the  wand  transformer]  is  its  name.  Over  the  River  Liffey 
it  is.  Its  property  is:  the  ash  wand  that  is  put  into  it  is  immediately 
made  into  a  wand  of  hazle  ;  and  if  it  be  hazle  that  is  thrown  into  it, 
it  will  be  ash  at  coming  out  of  it. 

xxx.  A  belfry  of  fire'  which  was  seen  at  Ross  Dela,  during 
the  space  of  nine  hours,  and  black  birds,  without  number,  coming  out 
and  going  into  it.  One  great  bird  was  among  them,  and  the  smaller 

birds 


Map  of  Meath,  sheet  19  —  (T.) 

h  Mael-  Gobhann.  —  This  well  has  not 
been  identified,  and  the  name  is  now  ob- 
solete. It  is  the  twelfth  wonder  in  D, 
and  is  thus  described:  Gibpa  pil  a  pleib 
f.at^en,  placcuill  inori,  plat  umopeann 
cic  aipoe;  no  umnpeann  innci  -|  plac 
cliuill  aipoe.  "There  is  a  well  in  a 
mountain  in  Leinster  ;  a  rod  of  hazle  put 
into  it,  conies  out  a  rod  of  ash  ;  or  ash 
put  in,  and  a  rod  of  hazle  crimes  out  of  it." 


'  A  belfry  of  fire.  —  Cloicceac  ceneao, 
i.  e.  a  steeple,  or  belfry  of  fire,  a  column 
of  fire:  the  word  cloicceac  is  the  name 
given  to  the  round  towers  in  every  part 
of  Ireland.  Ros  Dela,  the  place  where 
the  miraculous  tower  of  fire  was  seen,  is 
now  Ross-dalla,  a  townland  in  the  parish 
of  Durrow,  near  Kilbeggan,  county  of 
Westmeath.  The  phenomenon  is  thus 


described  by  the  Four  Masters,  at  the 
year  1054:  Cloicceacn  ceneo  DO  puipcc- 
pm  ipm  aep  uap  T?op  oeala  ota  oorhnac 
peile  Jjuipgi  ppi  pe  coij  nuap  eom  ouBu 
oiaipmioe  mo  -\  app,  -j  aori  en  mop  inu 
meoon,  -\  no  ceijio  nu  heom  beja  po 
ueicib'  pioe  an  can  ceiccoip  ip  in  cloicc- 
rench.  "  A  belfry  of  fire  was  seen  in  the 
air,  over  Ross-deala,  on  the  Sunday  of  the 
feast  of  St.  Guirgi  [George]  for  five  hours; 
blackbirds  innumerable  passing  into  and 
out  of  it,  and  one  large  bird  in  the  middle 
of  them,  and  the  little  birds  went  under 
his  wings  when  they  went  into  the  bel- 
fry." 

In  the  year  1054,  the  feast  of  St. 
George  was  on  Saturday;  the  annalist 
must,  therefore,  mean  the  year  1055,  un- 
less we  suppose  him  to  speak  of  the  day 
after  as  "  the  Sunday  of  the  feast  of  St. 
George."-^.) 


2l6 


na  h-eoin  bega  po  clumaib  in  can  no  cegeo  ip  in  cloicceac,  -|  can- 
carap  in  aenpecc  uile  amac  "]  conup  gabpac  coin  leo  na  n-ingmb 
i  n-aipoe,  ~|  no  lecpec  pip  co  calam  uaiOib,  -)  lac  mapb.  Luiopec 
in  enlaic  ap  lapcain,  -|  in  caill  pop  pa  n-Depioap  o'elligporu  co  ca- 
larh,  ~\  in  oaipbpi  pop  pa  n-oepio  in  c-en  mop  uc  po  puc  laip  cona 
ppernaib  a  calinam,  "|  m  pep  cio  imluaiO. 

.ftp.  Imp  loca  Cpe  i  epic  Gib  ;  nip  lamair  ecame  boinenoa 
no  anrnannai  boinerma  t>o  mil  no  Do  6uine,  ~[  m  epil  pecfac  inoi,  ~| 
rn  cumacap  a  aonacul  ince. 

.;r;c;ni.  TThnlenn  Cilli  Cepp  i  n-Oppaigib;  m  meileab  i  n-t>om- 
nac  ace  na  n-oegeb;  ~\  m  ineil  nac  [poca]  i  n-gaioi,  ~\  m  lamair  mna 
reacc  mo. 

.^pn.  Cacain  bnoi  Senl.oro  Colmain  ;  cia  Dopapcap  in  nn- 

popc 

J  Locli  Cre — This  lake  is  HOW  dried  up,  Cambrensis,  who  mentions  also  another 
but  the  island  re-mains,  surrounded  by  a  island  in  the  same  lake  called,  Insula  Vi- 
bog,  and  contains  the  ruins  of  a  chureh, 
which  still  exhibit  a  beautiful  specimen 
of  the  architecture  of  tin-  eleventh  cen- 
tury. The  bog  is  now  called,  from  the 
island,  ITloin  nu  li-iri]-e,  "  the  Hog  of  ihc 
Island,"  and  the  name  i:>  anglicised  Muna- 
hinsha  or  Monainsha.  It  is  situated  1.1  a 
townluncl  of  the  same  name,  in  the  parish 
of  Corbally,  barony  of  Ikerrin.  which  was 
formerly  a  part  of  the  district  of  Kile,  in  the 
Co.  Tipperary,  about  two  miles  S.  E.  of  the  funninei  sexus  aliquod  animal  intrare  po- 


ventium  (imp  na  m-beo),  in  which  no 
man  could  die,  but  in  the  ti'Xt  both  pro- 
perties appear  to  be  attributed  to  the 
same  island:  "  Est  lacus"  (he  says)  "in 
Momonia  Boreali,  duas  continens  insulas, 
unam  majorcm  et  alteram  minorem.  Major 
ecclesiam  habet  antique  religionis.  Minor 
vero  capellam  cui  pauci  ca-libes  quos  Coc- 
licolas  vel  Colideos  vocant  devote  deser- 
viunt.  In  majorem  nunquam  fuumina  vel 


town  of  Roscrea.  The  church  is  figured  in 
Ledwich's  Antiquities  of  Ireland,  p.  115 
(2nd  edit.),  and  appears  to  have  been  de- 


tuit,  quin  statim  moriretur.  Probatum 
est  hoc  multoties  per  canes  et  catos,  alia- 
que  sexus  illius  animalia,  qua:  periculi 


dicatcd  to  St.  Ilclair,   or   Hilary;  see  the      causa  frequenter  advecta  statim  occubue- 


Calendar    of  O'Clery,   at   Sept.    7.     The 
storv  of  the  island  in   which  no  female 


runt,  »tc In  minor!   vero  insula 

nemo  unquam   mortuus   fuit,   vel   morte 


could  live  is  as  old  as  the  time  of  Giraldus      natural!  mori  potuit.     Unde  et  Viventium 


217 


birds  used  to  nestle  in  his  feathers  when  they  went  into  the  belfry.- 
And  they  all  came  out  together.  And  they  took  up  dogs  with  them 
in  their  talons,  and  they  let  them  drop  down  to  earth  and  they  dead. 
The  birds  flew  away  from  that  place  afterwards,  and  the  wood  upon 
which  they  .perched  bent  under  them  to  the  ground.  And  the  oak 
upon  which  the  said  great  bird  perched  was  carried  by  him  by  the 
roots  out  of  the  earth,  and  where  they  went  to  is  not  known. 

xxxi.  The  island  of  Loch  Crej,  in  the  territory  of  Eile.  No 
female  bird,  or  female  animal,  whether  beast  or  man,  dare  enter 
upon  it.  And  no  sinner  can  die  on  it,  and  no  power  can  bury  him 
on  it. 

xxxii.  The  mill  of  Cille  Cessk  in  Osraighibh.  It  will  not  grind 
on  the  Lord's  day,  except  for  guests.  And  it  will  not  grind  even 
a  handfull  that  has  been  stolen.  And  women  dare  not  come  into  it. 

xxxiii.  The  ducks  of  the  pond  of  Seanboth  of  Colman1.  Though 

they 

Dist.  2,  c.  51.  But  the  peculiarity  of 
excluding  women  is  ascribed  by  Cambren- 
sis  to  the  mill  of  St.  Fechin,  at  Fore, 
in  Westmeath.  Ibid.  c.  52.  The  word 
poru  inserted  between  brackets  in  the 
text,  is  added  by  a  later  hand,  and  signi- 
fies a  handful.  This  is  the  twenty-first 
wonder  in  D,  and  is  thus  decribed: 
ITluiUeanD  Chille  Ceipe  a  n-Oppai^ib 
nocu  meleano  oe  oomnaij  ace  cuic 
na  n-aijea6,  •)  ni  meleunn  upbup  jaioe 


Insula  vocatur." — Dist.  2.  c.  4.  From  the 
mention  of  Culdees  in  the  above  passage, 
Ledwich  has  taken  occasion  to  connect 
with  Monaincha  some  of  the  most  absurd 
of  his  speculations.  See  Lanigan  Eccl. 
Hist.  vol.  iv.,  p.  290 — (T.) 

k  Cill  Ceis. — This  place  has  been  iden- 
tified by  Mr.  O'Donovan,  who  proves  that 
it  is  the  same  which  is  now  anglicised 
Kilkeas,  and  still  called  in  Irish  Cill 
Ceipe  by  the  neighbours.  It  is  a  parish  in 
the  diocese  of  Ossory,  barony  of  Knock- 
topher,  in  the  county  of  Kilkenny.  The 
well  is  spoken  of  by  Giraldus,  who  calls 
it  the  well  of  St.  Lucherinus :  "  Apud 
Ossyriam  est  molendinum  Sancti  Luche- 
rini  abbatis,  quod  diebus  Dominicis  nihil, 
de  furto  vero  vel  rapina  nunquam  inolit." 

IRISH  ARCH.  SOC.   1 6.  5 


oo  spep.  "  The  mill  of  Cill  Ceise  in 
Ossory;  it  does  not  grind  on  the  Lord's 
day  except  the  share  of  the  guests ;  and  it 
will  not  grind  stolen  corn  at  any  time." 
-(T.) 

1  Seanboth  of  Colman — A  church  dedi- 
cated to  St.  Colman,  which  Mr.  O'Dono- 


2l8 


pope  aioci  mapaen  la  h-mpce  na  linoi  i  caipi  pop  cenib  aa  no 
loipcoip  peoa  in  caiman  pon  coipi  pin  ni  h-aupcoicij,  -]  ni  ceg  in 
uipce. 

jcjtyiu.  Ni  aicpebaic  ono,  loipcino  no  nacpaca  t  n-6pinn  uili, 
1  cia  co  bepcap  a  h-maoaib  eili  mci  aplaio  po  cecoip,  -|  ipeb  pon 
po  oepbao,  ace  luc  pael  ~\  pinnae  ni  bai  ~\  ni  bia  nac  n-anna  [n-an- 
nianna]  aupcoicech  inci  -\  ip  mepaip  ap  cep  -|  ap  puacc.  TTluip 
caipppi  .1111.  m-bliaona  pe  m-bpach.  pinic.  Ctinen.  ptnic. 

III. 


van  has  shewn  to  be  the  same  which  is 
now  called  Templeshanbo,  in  the  diocese 
of  Ferns,  situated  at  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tain called  in  Irish  Suijhe.  ^aijliean, 
and  in  English,  Mount  Leinster.  The 
situation  of  this  church,  which  was  un- 
known to  Archdall  and  Lanigan,  is  thus 
described  in  the  Life  of  St.  Maidhoc,  c.  26, 
published  by  Colgan  (Acta  SS.  p.  21 1): 
"  Quodam  die  vcnit  S.  Moedoc  ad  monas- 
terium  quod  dicitur  Seanbotha,  juxta  ra- 
dices montis  qui  dicitur  Scotice  Snitrhe 
Lagen,  id  est  Sessio  Laginensiuni."  The 
monastery  was  founded  by  St.  Cohiuin 
O'Fiachrach,  whose  memory  was  there  ce- 
lebrated on  the  2  yth  of  October.  Colgan, 
ibid.  p.  217,  n.  26,  and  p.  210,  n.  46.  The 
story  of  St.  Colman's  ducks  is  now  for- 
gotten in  the  neighbourhood,  but  it  is 
told  by  Cambrensis,  Top.  Ilib.  Dist.,  2, 
c.  31 ;  it  occurs  also  in  the  following  note 
on  the  Felire  Aenguis,  at  the  27th  of 
October:  Colman  ua  fiuchpach  .1.  hi 
pfnbothaib  pola  i  n-Llib  Cfnopelaij^.  Ip 
na  chill  acauc  na  lachuin,  -|  ni  lamaip 
ear;  ap  cia  pocepcap  i  n-impoll  aioche 


i  n-upce  pop  cenio  cia  po  loipccheu 
peoa  in  Domain  pon  coipe  ni  rhfij  in 
upce  co  capcap  lucpam  app  ipm  lino 
cfonai.  "  Colman  O'Fiachrach,  i.  e.  at 
Senbotha  Fola,  in  Hy-Cennselaigh ;  it  is 
in  his  church  are  the  ducks,  which  are 
not  to  be  touched;  for  although  they  are 
cast  by  a  mistake  made  at  night,  into 
water  on  the  fire,  though  the  woods  of  nil 
the  world  were  burned  under  the  pot,  the 
water  would  not  be  heated  until  they  are 
taken  out  of  it  and  put  into  the  same 
pond  from  which  they  were  taken." — (T.) 
m  Tested. — The  popular  belief  ascribes 
this  peculiarity  of  Ireland  to  the  prayers 
of  St.  Patrick  ;  an  opinion  which  is  de- 
fended by  Dr.  David  Roth,  in  his  Eluci- 
dationes  in  Jocelinum,  published  by  Mes- 
singham,  Floril.  p.  127,  sq.  But  it  is 
rejected  by  Colgan,  Append,  v.  ad  Acta 
S.  Patr.  c.  20  (Trias,  p.  255),  and  by  La- 
nigan  (vol.  i.  p.  252,  n.  108),  who  main- 
tain that  there  never  were  any  venomous 
reptiles  in  Ireland.  In  D.  this  freedom 
from  venomous  creatures  is  also  men- 
tioned last,  as  the  twenty-eighth  wonder: 


219 

they  were  put  by  mistake  of  night,  with  the  water  of  the  pond, 
into  a  pot  upon  a  fire,  and  although  all  the  woods  of  the  earth  were 
burned  under  that  pot,  they  would  not  be  injured,  nor  would  the 
water  become  hot. 

xxxiv.  There  live  not  then,  toads  nor  serpents  in  all  Eri,  and 
even  though  they  be  brought  from  other  places  unto  it  they  die  im- 
mediately; and  this  has  been  tested™.  Except  the  mouse,  the  wolf, 
and  the  fox,  there  has  not  been,  and  there  shall  not  be,  any  noxious 
animal  in  it.  And  it  is  temperate  of  heat  and  cold.  The  sean  icill 
come  over  it  seven  years  before  the  day  of  Judgment.  Finit.  Amen. 
Finit0. 

III. 


Gp  mjnuo  nr.op  dile  a  n-epm&  .1.  can 
nachaip  -j  can  leoman  -|  can  loipceann 
innci  -|  can  peipr  neimnj  ace  pmnai£  -| 
mic  cipe,  i  oa  chujcap  moce  a  rip  aile 
ciagaio  ej  po  cecoip  mod  can  puipeach ; 
conao  lac  pin  ppim  injuncu  Gpenn  uile 
conuige  pm.  "  There  is  another  great 
wonder  in  Eri,  viz.,  there  are  no  snakes, 
nor  lions,  nor  toads  in  it ;  and  there  are 
no  venomous  beasts  except  the  fox  and 
wolf,  and  if  they  are  brought  into  it  from 
another  country  they  die  in  it  immedi- 
ately without  delay.  These  are  the  prin- 
cipal wonders  of  all  Eri  we  know." — (T.~) 

n  The  sea Ralph  Iligden  (Polychron. 

lib.  5,  c.  4)  has  recorded  the  tradition 
that  St.  Patrick  obtained  for  the  Irish 
this  privilege,  that  no  Irishman  shall  be 
alive  during  the  reign  of  Antichrist.  This 
serves  to  explain  the  expectation  that  the 
sea  shall  cover  Ireland  seven  years  before 
the  day  of  judgment.  In  the  Leabhar 

2 


Breac  (fol.  14,  b.)  there  is  an  account  of 
St.  Patrick's  expulsion  of  the  demons 
from  Ireland,  and  of  the  seven  requests 
which  he  obtained  of  the  Lord.  The  first 
three  of  these  were:  Cipe  DO  pepuib 
Gpenn  DO  gne  aicpiji  pe  m-bap,  cio  ppi 
pe  en  uaipe,  na  po  h-iacca  ippepno  puip 
i  m-bpach;-]  cona  po  aitcpe  bao  ecc- 
paino  in  mopi;  -|  co  ci  muip  catppi  .uii. 
m-bliuona  pia  m-bpar.  "  Whosoever  of 
the  men  of  Eri  repents  before  death,  even 
the  space  of  one  hour,  hell  shall  not  be 
shut  on  him  at  the  judgment;  and  fo- 
reigners shall  not  inhabit  the  island;  and 
the  sea  shall  come  over  it  seven  years  be- 
fore the  judgment."  It  is  evident  that 
this  last  is  regarded  as  a  blessing  to  the 
Irish,  because,  by  that  means,  Ireland 
shall  be  saved  from  the  persecution  of 

Antichrist (T.) 

°  Finit. — In  D.  there  occur  the  follow- 
ing wonders,  not  mentioned  in  the  fore- 
F2 


22O 


III. 


maelmupa  Ocna  .cc. 

Canam  bunaoap  na  n-jaeoel 
jaiji  cloc  n-jlfofno 


going  list;  the  numbers  prefixed  denote 
the  order  in  which  they  stand  in  the 
twenty-eight  wonders  of  which  the  list 
given  in  D.  consists. 

i.  Loch  6ein  ;  ceuclipu  chipcillu 
uime  .1.  cipcall  poam,  -|  chipcnll  luai^i, 
1  chipcall  lapino, -|  cipcullurnu.  "  Locli 
Loin;  four  circles  are  round  it;  viz.,  a 
circle  of  tin,  and  a  circle  of  lead,  and  a 
circle  of  iron,  and  a  circle  of  copper." 
This  is  the  first  of  the  Irish  wonders  men- 
tioned byNennius:  "  Est  ibi  stagnum 
quod  vocatur  Loch  Lein,  quatuor  circu- 
lis  ambitur.  Prirno  circulo  gronna  stanui 
unibitur,  secundo  circulo  gronna  plumbi 
ambitur,  tertio  circulo  gronna  ferri,  quar- 
to circulo  gronna  a;ris  ambitur,  et  in 
eo  stagno  multa-  margarita;  inveniuntur, 
quas  ponunt  reges  in  auribus  suis."  This 
is  the  tenth  wonder  in  O'Flaherty's  me- 
trical list,  Ogyg.  p.  291.  Loch  Lein, 
now  the  upper  lake  of  Killarney,  but  an- 
ciently both  lakes  were  regarded  as  one, 
and  called  Loch  Lein. 

3.  6och  Riach  onn.  diupjmb  ill 
oura  in  juc  lo.  "  Loch  Riach,  [now 
Lough  Keagh,  near  a  town  of  the  same 
name  in  Galway.]  then  ;  it  takes  many 
colours  every  day."  This  is  O'Flaherty's 


Canci]- 

twelfth  wonder. 

4.  t)ipna  in  Oajoa  bon  .1.  cloch   DO 
bepap   up  in  tnuip  DO  caech   po  ceooip 
co  puib  pop  bpu  in  cobuip  ceonu.    "  The 
Dirna  of  the  Dagda,  viz.,  a  stone  which  is 
taken  out  of  the  sea,   it  returns  imme- 
diately, and  is  found  at  the  brink  of  the 
same   well."     This  resembles    the   third 
wonder  of  Man.     See  above,  p.  12 1.    The 
word  Dirna  denotes  a  stone  weight. 

5.  lubuip     nnc     n-Qinjcip    u     n-eup 
mui^i    uc   citheup    a    peach    cip    up   in 
n-uipci   co   pollup  i  ni   peccup  h-e  pem 
pop  cip.     "  The  yew  tree  of  the  son  of 
Aingcis  at   Eas    Maighe;    its   shadow    is 
seen  below  in   the  water,  and   it  is  not 
seen    itself  on    the  land."      Eas   Maighi 
is   the  cataract  of  the   river    Maigue,  at 
Cahirass,  in  the  county  Limerick.   Jt  does 
not  appear  who  the  son  of  Aingcis  was. 
This  is  O'Flaherty's  eleventh  wonder. 

13.  Cippu  pleibe  <5avni  ca  'xln  inncl 
.].  lun  oo  pal  goipc,  i  Ian  o'pip  uipci. 
"  The  well  of  Slieve  Gamh;  two  fulls  are 
in  it  [i.  e.  it  is  full  of  two  things],  viz., 
full  of  salt  sea-water,  and  full  of  pure 
water."  The  well  of  Slieve  Gamh,  or  the 
Ox  Mountains,  county  Sligo,  is  still  well 
known.  OTlaherty  describes  it  as  his 


221 


III. 

DUAN  EIREANNACH". 
Mceelmura  of  Othairi*  cecinit. 

Let  us  sing  the  origin  of  the  Gaedhel, 
Of  hic;h  renown  in  stiff  battles, 


fourth  wonder. 

16.  Copp  mnpe  jei6  no  h-aemip  o!  o 
copach  Domain  can  chuipp  aile  papia. 
"  The  crane  of  Inis  Geidh  has  been  alone 
from  the  beginning  of  the  world,  without 
any  other  crane  with  her."  Inis  Geidhe, 
i.  e.  Insular  Sancta?  Gedhias,  now  Inishkea, 
or  Inishgay,  is  an  island  about  three  miles 
oiT  the  coast  of  Erris.  See  O'Donovan's 
Hy  Fiachrach,  and  Map.  Very  little  is 
known  of  the  saint  who  has  given  her 
ilame  to  the  island,  but  the  existence  of 
the  lone  crane  of  Inishkea  i«  still  firmly 
believed  in  by  the  peasantry.  This  is 
O' Flaherty's  sixth  wonder. 

21.  Ciunan  naimlin^  maipi£  can  lo- 
B'IO  can  bpenao  co  no  ballaib  ocaib  con 
pap  puilr  i  mngean.  "  Cianan  of  Daimh- 
Hag  [Duleek]  remains  without  corrup- 
tion, without  stinking,  with  his  members 
perfect,  and  his  hair  and  his  nails  grow." 
This  curious  tradition  is  mentioned  in  the 
notes  to  the  Felire  Aennuis,  at  the  241!)  of 
November ;  it  may,  perhaps,  be  understood 
as  communicating  to  us  the  fact  that  the 
whole  body  of  the  saint  was  preserved  as 
a  relic  at  Duleek.  St.  Cianan  was  one  of 
the  earliest  Irish  Christians,  to  whom  St. 
Patrick,  according  to  Tighernach,  gave 


Whence 

his  own  copy  of  the  Gospels:  ip  DO  cuj 
pucpoic  a  poipcela.  He  died  A.  D.  489. 
Tigern.  in  anno. — (71.) 

p  Duan  Eireannach. — I  have  given  the 
name  of  Duan  Eireannach  to  this  poem, 
for  convenience  sake,  as  it  seems  of  the 
same  nature  with  the  Duan  Albannach, 
which  is  already  known  by  that  name  to 
the  students  of  Irish  and  Scottish  his- 
tory. Although  quoted  by  O'Flaherty 
(Ogyg.  iii.  c.  72),  and  by  Keating,  this 
ancient  poem  has  never  been  published, 
and  may  be  said  to  be  unknown  to  an 
historian.  It  is  here  printed  from  a  very 
good  copy  in  the  Book  of  Leinster,  in 
the  Library  of  Trin.  Coll.  (H.  2.  18),  com- 
pared with  two  other  copies,  one  in  the 
fragment  of  the  Book  of  Lecan,  which 
remains  in  the  same  Library  (II.  2.  18), 
and  the  other  in  a  paper  MS.  in  the  hand- 
writing of  Tadhg  O'Neaehtain,  also  in  the 
Library  of  Trin.  Coll.  (H.  i.  15,  p.  27), 
which  seems  to  have  been  copied  from  the 
Book  of  Leinster.  Mr.  O'Reilly  (Trans, 
of  Gaelic  Society,  p.  Ivi.),  speaks  of  "  a 
very  fine  copy  of  it",  which  was  in  his 
own  possession  ;  but  if  he  alludes  to  this 
it  turns  out  to  be  only  a  transcript  in  his 
own  hand-writing  made  from  the  copy  in 


222 


cctnap  rapla  conogup  oilfno 
oocum  n-fpfno. 

Cicne  in  pfpano  in  jio  rpebpac 

cuippfp  pfne 
cib  oop  puc  i  cfpce  rfpe 

no  puiniuo  5]iene. 

Ciappo  cucaic  jiooop  pojluaip 

nem  DO  capciul, 
in  DO  feceD,  no  in  DO  cfnac, 

no  inD'  5apciuo? 

Ciao  e  ap  oilpiu  ooib  pop  Domun 

inD  a  raeoin 
Dm  n-anmrnjuD  in  a  n-acpeb 

Scuicc  no 


10 


15 
CiamDip 


H.  i.  15,  the  worst  of  the  three  copies 
from  which  the  text  is  here  printed.  This 
transcript  is  now  in  the  Library  of  the 
Royal  Irish  Academy,  but  is,  of  course, 
of  no  authority.  In  the  following  notes 
the  readings  of  the  Book  of  Lecan  will  be 
distinguished  by  the  letter  L.,  and  those 
of  O'Naghten's  copy  by  N  __  (T.) 

q  Maelmura  of  Othain,  or  of  Fathain 
(the  F  being  aspirated  and  omitted),  now 
Fahan,  near  Loch  Swilly,  in  Inishowen, 
Co.  Donegal.  See  an  account  of  Maelmura 
in  O'Keilly's  Irish  Writers  (Trans.  Gaelic 
Soc..  p.  Ivi.).  See  also  the  Four  Masters,  at 
the  year  884,  and  the  Leabhar  Gabhala  of 
the  O'Clerys,  in  the  Library  of  the  Royal 


Irish  Academy,  p.  207,  where,  after  men- 
tion  made  of  the  historical  poem  written 
by  him  for  Flann  Sionna  King  of  Ireland, 
his  death  is  thus  recorded  :  ITlaelmopae 

FelPn  an  F'1-6  F°Tcc^e  F'Peolacrca1Pl6e 
epjna  on  bepla  Scoireccoa  Do  ecc  ipn 
ochcmao  bl.  DO  plaicri  plomo  c-Sionna 
884.  "  The  same  Maelmura,  a  learned, 
truly-intelligent  poet,  an  historian  skilled 
in  theScottic  language,  died  in  the  eighth 
year  of  the  reign  of  Flann  Sionna,  A.  D. 
884."  The  writer  then  quotes  a  poem 
in  praise  of  Maelmura,  which  is  too  long 
for  insertion  here.  —  (T.) 

r  Mighty  stream-  —  Conojup,  compound- 
ed  of  tono,   a  wave,   and  ^up,  powerful. 


223 

Whence  did  the  mighty  stream'  of  ocean 
Waft  them  to  Eri  ? 

What  was  the  land5  in  which  they  originally  lived, 

Lordly  men,  Fenians1? 
What  brought  them,  for  want  of  land, 

To  the  setting  of  the  sun  ? 

What  was  the  cause  that  sent  them  forth 

Upon  their  wanderings  ? 
Was  it  in  flight,  or  for  commerce, 

Or  from  valour"? 

What  is  the  proper  name1  for  them, 

As  a  nation, 
By  which  they  were  called  in  their  own  country  V 

Scuit  or  Gaedhil  ? 


10 


'5 

Why 


In  the  preceding  line,  gleceno  is  ren- 
dered battles,  on  the  authority  of  O'Clery's 
Glossary,  where  jlecen  is  explained  jleo 
[battle],  and  gleo  teann  [stern  fight], 
For  canap  capla,  line  3,  L.  reads  can  oop 
pala (T.) 

5  What  was  the  land. — Ceppi  uppano. 
L.  "what  was  the  division."— (T.) 

'  Fenians. — Alluding  to  the  story  of 
Fenius  Farsaidh,  King  of  Scythia,  and 
the  school  of  learning  established  by  him 
under  the  superintendence  of  Gaedhal, 
son  of  Eathor.  See  Keating  (Haliday's 
Transl.  p.  225),  and  O'Donovan's  Irish 
Grammar,  p.  xxviii.  sq.  Cop  is  a  lord, 
a  chief  (in  the  oblique  case  cuip):  cuip- 


pep  (which  in  the  plural  would  be  better 
written    cuippip)   will    therefore    signify 

noble  or  lord-like  men (2\) 

u  Valour. — "Did  they  leave  their  former 
habitations  in  flight  from  their  enemies, 
or  for  the  sake  of  commerce,  or  from  a 
spirit  of  adventure  and  love  of  conquest  ?" 
L.  reads  (ciapi  cucaic  in  po  poj^lump), 
pern  lap  caipcuil? — (T.) 

v  Name. — The  language  here  is  very 
rude,  and  perhaps  has  been  corrupted  by 
transcribers.  L.  reads, 

Ce  oiae  apa  oipliu  oml> 

cinom  cuioen 

oia  n-ammeouj  ma  n-oaipnib 
pcuir  no  jaeioil. — (T.) 


224 


Ciamoip  pfne  aclejicha 

oo  anmuriu  ooib 
acup  jaeoel  anoop  jleio 

can  ooppoiO. 

610  nup  pelpapu  cam  pa 

cop  ba  cipech, 
11015  ir  eolach  i  ppeir  pfnra)  a 

mac  TTlilfD. 

Ulan  ail  oo  Dia  bio  mniu  ouic 

TII  ba  niapoch 
opo  pfncapa  mac  TTlileo 

peib  po  jielad. 


20 


25 


N<ie  ndip  laper 
ip  uao  ap  ciniuo 
oo  jpecaib  oun  conap  m-bunuo 
conap  n-objiio. 


3° 
Don 


w  Fene  —  L.  reads, 


pene  apa  m-beapoair 
mbu  amm  ooib 
ocup  in  jaeioil  pup  j^leij 
ccm  oop  pobij.  —  (7'.) 

x  Ignorant  —  The  word  cipech  occurs 
again,  line  146.  In  L.  tlie  following  stanza, 
which  does  not  occur  in  the  other  copies, 
is  inserted  here: 

Cione  pemeno  poppa  poboup 

pmch  pepgach 
no  cia  mac  oo  niaccaib  FTlileuD 

cuip  a  m-beappchap. 


"  What  adventure  were  they  upon 

In  their  angn,'  course, 
Or  what  sons  (if  the  sons  of  Mileilh 
Are  they  to  be  traced  to?" 

And  then  follows: 

6uo  leip  noo  pelu  oum  uile 

cop  bo  cicheach 
Qp  ba  peappoa  appeich  peancapa 

mac  niileao. 

"  It  is  all  clear  to  me, 

And  it  is  visible, 
For  I  am  excellent  in  the  stream  of  history 

Of  the  sons  of  Miledh  "_ (TV) 

1  Willing. — vmio  coip  le  Oia,  L.:  and 


225 


Why  was  Fene"  said  to  be 

A  name  for  them  ? 
And  Gaedhil — which  is  the  better, 

Whence  was  it  derived  ? 

Although  thou  revealest  it  not  to  me, 

But  leavest  me  ignorant", 
For  thou  art  learned  in  the  stream  of  history 

Of  the  sons  of  Miledh, 

Yet  if  God  be  willing*,  thou  shalt  have  to-day, 

Not  to-morrow, 
The  order  of  the  history  of  the  sons  of  Miledh, 

As  it  happened. 

The  royal  son  of  righteous2  Noah,  Japheth, 

From  him  is  our  descent, 
Of  the  Greeks'  are  we,  in  our  origin, 

In  our  laws. 


20 


25 


3° 


Of 


in  line  28,  peib  cmpulao — (!'.) 

'*  Righteous. — nai|i,  omitted  in  L. — (T.) 
"  Ch'eeks, — The  alleged  Grecian  origin 
seems  to  require  a  descent  from  Japhet 
through  Javan,  whose  name  was  anciently 
identified  with  laon,  the  open  form  of 
Ion;  curb  ct  'lojuaj/ov  'lutvia  Kcil  7r«yr£<;"EA- 
Xrivif.— Josephus,  i.  vi.  I.  But  if  Fenius 
Farsaidh  was  the  great-grandson  of  Japhet 
by  Magog,  as  Mr.  O'Flaherty  found  it 
(Ogyg.  p.  9,  10),  and  as  the  Scythian 
mythus  requires,  why  are  Miledh's  sons 
said  to  be  of  the  Greeks  ? — (H.)  The 
author  of  the  life  of  St.  Cadroe  (Colgan, 
IRISH  ARCH.  SOC.  l6.  2 


Acta  SS.  p.  494)  has  given  a  legend  of 
the  origin  of  the  Scots,  in  which  they 
are  said  to  have  been  a  colony  from  a  city 
called  "  Choriscon,"  situated  on  the  river 
Pactolus,  between  the  regions  of  Choria 
[Caria]  and  Lydia.  The  inhabitants  of 
this  city  having  discovered  the  superior 
fertility  of  Thrace,  set  out,  "junctis  sibi 
Pergamis  et  Lacedffimoniis,"  with  their 
wives  and  property,  to  take  possession  of 
that  country,  "ut  cupitam  terrain  pos- 
sessuri  peterent."  They  were  driven, 
however,  by  terrific  storms,  out  of  their 
course,  through  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar, 

G 


226 

Oon  cpeib  if  ampu  po  ^abpac 

plan  up  puilec 
pop  bic  bpofnac;  o  cupcbail  jjpeme  35 

co  a  puineo. 

plaicein  cpoon  pojab  in  rhbic 

ri-glfpac  ri-jlespac; 
Nembpor  a  amm  pfp  lap  nofpnao 

in  cop  ofptnap.  4° 

Cum  pfniup  cliuice  ap  in  Scicia 

pop  pluajao, 
pfp  aipejoa  ccnaio  eolac 

bpufmap  bagach. 

foa  ofn  bepla  bof  ip  in  oomun  45 

in  po  jjabpac, 
nri  bepla  Dec  ap  cpi  picbcib 

can  po  pcappac. 

Sool 

and  then  up  to  Iivlnnd  (whicli  the  author  son  of  ./Eneas  (i.  e.  Fenius),  a  Lacedemo- 
reprcscnts  as  being  then  inhabited  by  nian,  who  was  one  of  their  leaders.  See 
Picts — gentem  Pictaneorum  rcpeviunt).  Colgan's  notes,  11.39,40,  ib.  502.  I  he 
They  landed  under  Cruach  an  eile,  now  author  of  the  Life  of  St.  Cadroe  is  sup- 
Cruach  Patrick,  in  Clew  Bay,  Co.  Mayo.  posed  by  Colgan  to  have  written  A.I). 
They  proceeded  thenee  to  Clonmaenois,  1040.  The  common  story  given  by  Col- 
then  to  Armagh,  Kildare,Cork,Bangor,  and  gan  (note  2,  ad  Vit.  S.  Abbani,  16  Mart, 
cventolona;  in  short,  they  obtained  pos-  p.  621)  represents  the  migrations  of  the 
session  of  the,  whole  island  (particularly  of  Scotic  colony  to  have  been  from  Egypt  to 
its  ecclesiastical  cities,  although  so  long  be-  Greece,  thence  to  Spain,  and  thence  to 
fore  Christianity),  and  they  called  it  first  Ireland. — (T.) 

Choriscia,  from  the  name  of  their  native  u  In  this  world. — Uap  bir  bpomech,  L. 

town,  and  then  Scotia,  from  Scotta,  daugh-  c  Nembroth,  i.  e.  Nimrod.     L.  omits  pep 

ter  of  the  king  of  Egypt,  and  wife  of  Niul,  in  line  39,  and  writes  the  name  Nebpoch. 


227 

Of  the  most  illustrious  people  that  ever  enjoyed 

A  bloody  sovereignty 
In  this  world"  of  woe  ;  from  the  rising  of  the  sun  35 

To  its  setting. 

A  valiant  prince  took  dominion  over  the  world, 

The  wide-spread,  noisy  world; 
Nembroth"  his  name,  a  man  by  whom  was  built 

The  very  great  tower.  40 

Fenius  came  unto  himd  out  of  Scythia, 

Upon  an  expedition, 
A  man  illustrious,  wise,  learned, 

Ardent,  warlike. 

There  was  but  one  language  in  the  worldc  45 

When  they  met, 
Twelve  languages  and  three  scoref 

When  they  parted. 

A 

N.  has  Hempo& (2'.)  renders  this  stanza  thus  : 

*   Unto  him. — Keating,    who    quotes    V.  "  Egressum  Scythia  Fenius  numerosa  secuta  est. 

41-52  of  this  poem,  omits  chuice,    which  Turba  virum;  studiis  nimirum  addictus,  ctarmis 

occurs  in  all  the  other  copies  :  in  L.  it  is  Mix  illc  fuit>  necnon  vir  mente  sagaci."_(r.) 

written  cliucai.     The  omission  is  neces-          f  In  the  ivorld Keating  reads,   baoi 

sary  to  the  metre.     In  line  42,   L.  reads  pan  oorimn,  and  in   the  next  line,  map 

pop  pa  pluaijeo,  and  Keating  popp  an  DO  jabpac.     L.  reads  moio  jabpac.     Dr. 

pluajab,  which   is   also  required  by  the  Lynch  has  paraphrased  this  stanza  thus : 

metre.     In  line  44,  for  bajacli,  warlike,  "  Ingressis  turrim  mortalibus,  unica  lingua 

L.  and  Keating  read  buuouc,   victorious;  Nota  fuit,  digress!  septuaginta  loquuntur 

and  N.  buajac,   which   is   wrong,  unless  Et  binas  linguas." 

it  be  intended  for  buabac.     Dr.  Lynch,  In  line  43,  N.  and  Keating  read  picio  for 

in  his  unpublished  translation  of  Keating,  pichrib. — (T.) 

a.  MS.  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  O'Donovan,  f  Twelve  and  three  score,  i.e.  72.     The 


228 


Scol  mop  la  pafrmir  ic  pojlaim 

in  cec  fp^na, 
pfp  apD  aorna  po  bfo  co  ampa 

in  cec  bfplu. 

t>pfra  mac  DO  pafmup  pajipaio 

ba  Dual  co  bpnr, 
ap  cumcac  in  cuip  la  cuaich  caiman 

Nel  Oapogpao. 

17ancarap  pcela  co  popaim> 

la  mfc  h-5pfra, 
Nel  mac  Paeniupa  ica  piler 

bepla  in  beclia. 

6pefa  Nel  pa  ofp  in  651  pc 
pern  n-5inpm  n-glfpe, 


5° 


55 


60 


number  of  Noah's  sons  and  their  posteri- 
ties, as  enumerated  in  Gen.  x.  and  i  Citron,  i. 
is  73.  from  which  arose  the  number  of  72 
languages,  both  among  Jews  and  Chris- 
tians. Philistim  being  omitted,  as  having 
boon  introduced  parenthetically  (Gen.  x. 
14,  i  Citron,  i.  12.),  not  as  one  of  the 
original  tribes,  but  in  reference  to  a  later 
subdivision.  Peter  Comestor,  in  his  Scho- 
lastic History,  has  said,  "  Texuntur  ex  eis 
72  generationes,  15  de  Japhet,  30  do 
Chem,  ct  27  de  Sem." — fol.  xiv.  But  Vin- 
cent of  Beauvais  mentions  both  reckon- 
ings thus  :  "  Fuerunt  ex  tribus  Noe  filiis 
gentes  73  (vel  potius  ut  ratio  deelarat72), 
scilicet  1 5  de  Japhet,  3 1  de  Cham,  et  27  de 


Sem,  totidcmque  lingua;  esse  coeperunt." 
— Spcciil.  Doctrina,  i.  c.  44.  The  angels 
whom  Jacob  beheld  ascending  and  de- 
scending the  ladder  were  72  in  number, 
and  they  were  the  angels  of  the  72  na- 
tions. Simeon  ben  Jochai,  cited  Bartolocei 
Bibl.  Uabbin.  i.  p.  228-9;  Reuchlin  de 
Verbo  Mirifico.  p.  938.  This  idea  is  agree- 
able to  the  Greek  version  of  Deut.  xxxii. 
8,  "according  to  the  number  of  the  angels 
of  God."  The  Mahometans  likewise  adopt 
the  number  72  as  that  of  the  nations  di- 
vided at  Babel  ;  and  in  analogy  to  that 
division  they  boast  of  their  religion  being 
divided  into  72  sects,  while  they  allow 
only  71  to  the  Christians,  and  70  to  the 


A  great  school  was  founded  by  Fenius,  to  instruct8 

In  all  knowledge,  50 

A  man  deeply  learned,  who  excelled 
In  every  language. 

A  son  was  born  to  Faenius  Farsaidh, 
Who  separated"  from  him  for  ever, 
On  the  building  of  the  tower  by  the  men  of  the  world,  55 

Nel,  whom  he  loved. 

• 

News  came  to  Forann' 

With  great  eclat, 
Of  Nel,  son  of  Fenius,  who  knew 

All  languages  of  the  world.  60 

Nel  was  carried  southwards  to  Egypt, 
Heroesj  of  dark  blue  weapons, 

The 

Jews.      See  Rycaut's   Turkish    Empire,  h  Separated. — t)uul  is  now  obsolete  ; 

p.  1 1 8.     Compare  also  Keating,   Hist,  of  but  seems  to  signify  separated.     In  the 

Ireland,    p.   61,   and    O'Flaherty,    Ogyg.  next  line  L.  reads  oo  rucncli;  grammar 

part  ii.  p.  63. — (//.)  would  seem  to  require  cuaraib,   but   it 

2  To  instruct L.  reads  etc  pojlaim  la  would  be    inconsistent  with   the   metre; 

Pemur,  and  gives  lines  51  and  52  thus  :  cuaich  is  the  reading  of  all  the  copies,  anil 

,-, .  ,  ,  is  used  asrain  in  the  same  sense,  1.  8r — (T.) 

pep  apo  ampa  co  mbuaio  oc  each 

1  Forann,  i.  e.  Pharaoh.     This  stanza  is 
ma  beplu. 

quoted   in  Haliday's  edition  of  Keating, 

Keatinggives  them  thus:  p.  233,  and  in  the  manuscript  copy  by  John 

Peap  a6urhpaea£nui6eolac[or  mlrhop]      Torna  O'Mulconry,  but  it  does  not  occur 
in  jac  beupla.  in   Lynch's  translation.     For  la  ver.  58, 

Dr.  Lynch  paraphrases  this  stanza  thus:        Haliday  and  O'Mulconry  read  50 — (T.) 

J  Heroes — pein,   cognate  with   renmo, 
" se  calcntissimus  artis 

Cujusvis  Fenius,  lingua  et  cujusvis  peritus  a  soldier,  a  hero  ;  or  the  word  may  be  the 

Evasit,  multis  in  lingua  quaque  Magister ( T.)        same  as  pine,  a  tribe,  a  nation.   "  A  people 


23° 

DO  bpfch  injfn  phopaino 
Do  Dap  epe. 

Rue  Scocra  pcfc  mac  DO  Neol  65 

ap  n-Diil  in 
fpp  cfc  cafa 

pip  plara  pfgelc. 

pfm  o  pliafniup  ay1  a  m-bepcop, 

clu  cfn  Docca,  70- 

(^ueDil  o  ^aeoiul  slap  gapca 

Scuirr  o  Scocra. 

Sfo  mop  i  m-bacap  la  phopamo 

la  mfic  n-nabai]i  ; 
popoap  Duanaic  i  ri-oalaih  75 

popoap 


Sluag  cuare  De  leicfp 
uaD  ap  omun, 

pop  a  plicc  co  opfmun  80 

co  muip  Romup. 


or  heroes  of  dark  blue  weapons"  is  possi-  reason.    5^er  denotes  weapons,  arms;  the 

bly  a  deseription  of  the  Egyptians;  but  it  word  is  thus  explained  in  a  glossary  jlepe 

may  perhaps   better  be  taken  in  apposi-  .1.  jlepu  .1.  inble  no  apma.  —  (71.) 

tion  with  Nel,  as  descriptive  of  his  ful-  k  Daughter  __  L.  inserts  her  name  Scoca: 

lowers  ;  his  son  Gaedhal  is  by  some  said  and  in  line  65  the  same  MS.  reads  pu^ 

to  have  been  called  jlap,  or  green,  from  Scoca  injen  DO  Nml,  an  error  which  has 

the  colour  of  his  armour  (Haliday's  Keat-  been  corrected  by  an  ancient  hand  which 

ing,  p.  237);  the  weapons  of  the  follow-  has  written  no  mac  over  the  word  injen. 

ers  of  Nel  may  therefore  be  here  called  —  (T.) 

,  i.e.  dark  blue  or  black,  for  a  similar  1A  hundred  fights  —  L.  reads  eppiccoca, 


231 

The  daughter"  of  Forann  was  given 
Unto  him  afterwards. 

The  beauteous  Scota  bare  a  son  to  Nel,  65 

After  his  arrival  in  Egypt, 
A  hero  of  a  hundred  fights',  Gaedhal  Glass, 

Endowed  with  sovereign  righteousness. 

The  Feni  from  Faenius  are  named, 

Not  small  their  renown".  70 

The  Gaedhil  from  Gaedhuil  Glass  are  called. 

The  Scots  from  Scota. 

In  great  peace  were  they  with  Forann, 

And  in  great  pride  ; 
They  recited  poems  in  their  assemblies,  75 

They  recited  battles11. 

The  hosts  of  the  people  of  God  Forann  permitted 

To  go  forth  from  him  through  fear, 
He  followed  in  their  track  fiercely 

To  the  sea  Romhuir0. 

Forann 

a  hero  of  battles  ;   and   in    the  next  line  ties;  or  perhaps  we  should  render  lines 75, 

ppi  placa  peijele (T.)  76,  thus  :    "They  were  poetical  [fond  of 

m  Renown. — L.  and  Keating  (Ilaliday's  poetry]  in  their  assemblies  ;   They  were 

ed.  p.  238,)  and  O'Flahcrty  (Ogyg.  p.  349,)  warlike  [or  numerous]".  For  popoap,  in 

read  bpi£  jan  (or   can)    bocca,    which  lines  75  and  76,   L.  reads  niboop,  which 

O'Flaherty  renders  "  res  manifesta  satis."  includes  a  negative  ;   and  in  line  73,  pch 

Can  ooccais,  literally,  without  difficulty.  map  pom  buoap  la  Popano — (T.) 

— (T.)  "Bomhuir — muip  pomuip,  a  corruption 

n  Battles. — They  recited  duans  (histo-  of  mare  rubrum.     L.  reads  oe  mmp  po- 

rical  poems),  and  tales  or  histories  of  bat-  muip    instead  of  co.       Haliday  (p.  245) 


232 

6dcip  popamo  a  b'n  uili 

aobul  caipDoe, 
cfpna  cuac  Oe  Da  cfp, 

nf  pop  baiD  ino  p 


Qcpai^pec  clanna  Niuil  peps  popainD,  85 

combcap  bponaij, 
06115  nac  Decacap  oon  nijail 

lap  in  copaio. 

Cio  in  can  na  rfpna  popamo 

Don  piao  paenach,  90 

cuara  6jfpc  ecla  la  claino  Neoil 

ma  n-oaepau. 

Uallparap  libfpna  popaino 

a  cfp  cpebpac, 
in  aiocln  uaip  Dap  belac  95 

mapa  puaio  paippec. 

Paipec  pec  InDe  pec  Qppia, 

ap  Don  pfppiD, 
Don  Sana,  co  m-bpfj  n-uaj'ail, 

Da  cfp  pfppm.  100 

pop 

absurdly  translates  mapa  poirmip,  "the  conjectural.  The  word  caipoe,  which  has 
great  sea,"  and  in  the  same  place  he  also  been  rendered  chariots,  is  now  obsolete, 
makes  the  stupid  blunder  of  rendering  and  the  meaning  assigned  to  it  is  very 
cuara  Oe  (line  75),  "  Uannan's  tribe."-  doubtful.  —  (T.) 

q  Reached.  —  L.  reads  pola  —  (T.) 
Chariots  __  This  translation  is  entirely          '  People  of  Egypt.  —  Lines  9  1  and  92  are 


233 

Forann  was  drowned  with  all  his  multitude 

Of  mighty  chariots'5  ; 
The  people  of  God  reached"1  their  own  country, 

The  sea  did  not  drown  them. 

The  children  of  Nel  raised  Foran's  ire,  85 

So  that  they  were  sorrowful, 
Because  they  joined  not  in  revenge 

Along  with  the  champion. 

But  when  Forann  returned  not 

From  his  onward  journey,  90 

The  people  of  Egypt"  were  dreaded  by  the  sons  of  Nel 

Lest  they  should  enslave  them. 

They  seized  the  ships8  of  Forann, 

They  deserted'  their  country  ; 
And  in  the  night  time  over  the  track  95 

Of  the  lied  Sea  they  passed". 

They  passed  by  India,  by  Asia, 

The  way  they  knew1  ; 
To  Scithia,  with  noble  might, 

Their  own  country.  too 

Over 


thus  given  in  L.  :  aopaijpecap  cuara  and  in  the  next  line  pop  f°r  DOP  —  ( 

ei^epr,  ap  oia  n-aepao,    "  the  people  of  "  Passed.  —  peppao,  they  sailed,  L  —  (T.) 

Egypt  attempted  to  enslave  them."  —  (T.)  *  They  knew  —  L.  reads, 

5  Ships.  —  tibepna,  evidently  the  Latin  Reppao  pech  Inoia,  pech  Clippie, 

Liburna  navis,  a  swift  boat,  or  galley.  apa  pepm, 

_  (T.)  oochum  Sceichia,  com-bpij  uapail, 

1  Deserted.  —  L.  reads  huachip  peppao,  cia  rip  peptn.  —  (T.) 

IRISH  ARCH.  SOC.   l6.                                   2  H 


pop  Tinuncino  nmpa  Caipp  jabpac 

cenpn  nilip 
papacpac  5^arF  in  Coponip 

ap  muip  Libip. 


Spu  mac  6ppiu  mpcanaib 
ba  cfn  mipppi 

cimchell  ncuam  cpom  co  oace 
plebe  17ippi. 


105 


17o  jab  a 
comol 


y  Surface. — mumcinn  is  explained  tiuc- 
cup  by  O'Clery.— (T.) 

z  Band. — L.  reads,  cuclmi|i  n-oilip, 
"  they  took  a  desirable  fortress."  In  the 
next  line,  for  popacpac,  L.  has  po  gubpac. 
-(T.) 

a  Coronis,  i.  e.  they  left  Glas  dead  at 
Coronis.  In  the  margin,  after  the  word 
Coponip,  the  scribe  has  written  n.  loci, 
i.e.  "nomen  loci."  L.  reads  Copcuip. 
According  to  the  historical  poem  of  Giolla 
Coemhain,  preserved  in  the  Leabhar 
Gabhala,  the  descendants  of  Nel  or  Niul, 
after  leaving  Egypt,  remained  in  Scythia 
for  a  considerable  time,  contending  for  the 
sovereignty  of  the  country ;  but  being  at 
length  expelled,  they  formed  a  settlement 
on  the  Caspian  Sea,  where  Aguoman,  the 
seventh  in  descent  from  Niul  (see  Ogy- 
gia,  page  67).  died.  After  remaining 
there  a  year  they  set  out  again,  passed 
through  the  Lybian  Sea,  and  Glas,  the 


gaerac 


1 10 


anaip 

son  ofAgnoman,  and  brother  of  Lamhfinn 
and  Elloth,  died  at  Coronis.  The  poet's 
words  (Leabhar  Gabhala,  p.  61)  are  as 
follow  : 

Runjucup  muip  £,ibip  lun. 
peolao  pe  pamltnre  plun, 
^jlap  mac  Qjjnomam  nupoip 
an  acbach  i  Coponip. 

"  They  reached  the  full  Lybian  Sea, 
They  sailed  six  full  summer  days  : 
(lias,  son  of  Agiinnian  the  wise. 
Died  at  Coronis." 

The  prose  account  in  the  Leabhar  Gabh- 
ala (p.  58),  states  that  their  settlement 
at  the  Caspian  Sea  was  in  an  island :  that 
they  remained  there  a  year,  and  on  the 
death  of  Agnoman  set  out  through  thr 
Lybian  Sea  to  an  island  called  Coronis, 
where  Glas,  son  of  Agnoman,  died,  after 
they  had  been  there  a  year.  Keating  calls 
this  island  "  Coronia  in  the  Pontic  Sea." 


235 


Over  the  surface*  of  the  Caspian  sea  they  passed, 

A  faithful  band2, 
They  left  Glas  in  Coronisa, 

On  the  Sea  of  Libis. 

Sru,  son  of  Esrub,  went  afterwards, 

He  was  without  dejection0, 
Round  by  the  gloomy  north  rapidly 

To  Slieve  Eiffi. 

He  settled  in  fiery  Golgatha", 
A  noble  deed' ; 


'05 


I  10 

There 


— Haliday's  edit.  p.  251.  The  Glas  here 
spoken  of,  therefore,  is  not  Gadhael  Glas, 
but  Glas,  son  of  Agnoman,  the  eighth  in 
descent  from  him.  Coronis  is  most  pro- 
bably Gyrene  on  the  Lybian  Sea.  "  Ab 
ea  parte  qua;  Lybico  [mari]  adjacet,"  says 
Pomponius  Mela,  "proximaest  Nilo  pro- 
vincia  quam  Cyrenas  vocant." — De  Situ 
Orbis,  1.  i.  c.  7.  And  his  annotator,  Joh. 
Olivarius,  adds,  "nunc  dicta  Corena." 
— See  also  Herodotus,  1.  iii.  and  iv. — 
(T.) 

b  Si-u,  son  ofEsru. — Sru,  son  of  Asruth, 
was  the  grandson  of  Gadheal  Glas,  and  the 
leader  of  the  descendants  of  Niul  in  the 
expedition  from  Egypt  to  Scythia.  But  if 
the  preceding  stanza  relates  to  the  death  of 
Glas  or  Lamhglas  (as  Keating  calls  him), 
who  was  the  sixth  in  descent  from  Sru, 
it  is  evident  that  there  has  been  some  con- 
fusion or  transposition.  The  error,  how- 
ever, occurs  in  all  the  copies  of  this  poem 

2H 


which  are  accessible  to  me — (T.) 

c  Without  dejection,- — N.  reads  cen  mip- 
p.i,  a  mistake  for  cen  mippi  or  mib'pi. 
But  L.  reads  ap  in  pceici,  "  out  of  Scy- 
thia."— (T.) 

d  Golgatha — ^oljocham,  L. 
ora,  N.  O'Flaherty  calls  it 
on  the  authority  of  the  poem  of  Giolla 
Coemhan  already  referred  to  (Leabhar 
Gabhala,  p.  60).  The  prose  account,  ib. 
p.  59,  gives  it  the  same  name;  cf.  v.  117. 
It  is  very  doubtful  what  place  is  intended 
by  this  appellation  ;  some  suggest  Gothia 
(Keating,  p.  251),  others  Galatia,  but 
O'Flaherty  prefers  Getulia  (Ogyg.  pp.  66, 
67).  This  stanza  is  probably  a  continua- 
tion of  the  adventures,  not  of  the  original 
expedition  under  Sru,  but  of  that  under 
Lamhfinn  and  Elloth,  the  brothers  of 
Glas,  son  of  Agnoman,  who  died  at  Coro- 
nis.  According  to  Keating  (p.  247,  Hali- 
day),  Sru  and  his  followers  went  no  far- 
2 


anaip  ano  a  chlanD  cen  Dijjna 
Da  cer  m-bliaona. 

bpach  mac  Oeagacha  Dop  n-amich 

pi5Oa  ippera, 
apin  co  h-em  egpaio  pochuaio 

i  cuapcepr  m-beacha 

6a  oe  jabaip  lap  n-^aechlaigib 

co  h-inDpib 
pijoa  a  loinjpm  capcnam  mapa 

Uappian  cpillpich. 

Do  Chpfic  DO  Shicil  pop  pfppar 
pop  pi  cinpftn 


120 


pec 


ther  than  Crete,  where  lie  left  a  colony 
and  died.  But  the  account  given  in  the 
Leabhar  Gabhala  majtes  him  pass  down 
the  Red  Sea,  into  the  Ocean,  by  the  island 
of  Taprabana  [Ceylon],  the  Kiphxan 
mountains,  and  so  to  Scythia.  —  (2'.) 

Slieve  Riffi  (line  108)  is  Mount  Rhi- 
phseus  in  Scythia,  now  called  the  Ural 
mountains,  which  the  Irish  antiquaries 
undoubtedly  connected  with  the  name  of 
Riphath,  grandson  of  Japhet,  Gen.  x.  3. 
Josephus,  however  (i.  c.  6),  says,  'Pupddqg 
ct  'PttftaQaiovGt  TOVG  \laff>\ayuvovc  \fyo[itvov(;. 


e  Deed.  —  L.  reads  comaen  n-gpiunou. 
N.  has  ou  cec  jpiunoa,  which  is  an  evi- 
dent mistake.  Authorities  differ  as  to 
the  number  of  years  that  the  posterity  of 


Lamhfinn  remained  in  Gaethluighc.  The 
old  copies  of  the  poem  of  Giolla  Coemh- 
ain  read  thirty  (see  Haliday's  Keating, 
p.  251 ;  Ogyg.  p.  72),  but  the  O'Clerys,  in 
their  copy  of  this  poem  in  the  Leabhar 
Gabhala  (p.  62),  have  300.  Keating, 
(loc.  cit.),  prefers  150,  on  the  ground  that 
Brath,  the  leader  of  the  expedition  from 
Gaethluighe  to  Spain,  was  the  ninth  in 
descent  from  Lamhfinn,  who  first  settled 
at  Gaethluighe.  But  this  would  be  allow- 
ing less  than  twenty  years  to  a  genera- 
tion. Our  author  assigns  200  years  to 
this  interval, — another  proof  that  this 
stanza  describes  the  adventures  of  Lamh- 
finn, not  of  Sru  son  of  Esru,  and  that 
some  stanzas  are  probably  lost.  O'Fla- 
herty  adopts  the  term  of  500  years,  and 


237 

There  dwelt  his  descendants  without  disgrace 
Two  hundred  years. 

Brathf,  son  of  Deagath,  performed 

A  royal  journey, 
From  thence  with  great  speed  northwards, 

To  the  north  of  the  world. 

It  was  then  he  passed  from  Gaethligh8 

To  the  islands; 
Royal  his  fleet,  ploughing  the  sea 

Of  sparkling  Tarrianh. 

By  Creid',  by  Sicil,  they  sailed 
In  their  course, 


1 20 


points  out  the  source  of  the  difficulty  in 
the  legend,  that  Niul,  or  Nel,  son  of 
Fenius  Farsaidh,  was  contemporary  with 
Moses,  which  he  could  not  be  without  ex- 
treme longevity,  as  the  genealogies  make 
him  only  the  fifth  in  descent  from  Noah; 
Ogyg.  p.  72.  O'Flaherty,  therefore,  places 
the  settlement  of  Lamhfinn  at  Getulia, 
about  the  year  A.M.  2245  (i.  e.  about  200 
years  before  Moses),  and  the  expedition 
of  Brath  from  Getulia  to  Spain  about 
A.M.  2767.— Ogyg.  p.  &2.—(T.) 

<  Brath This  stanza  and  the  next  are 

added  from  L.  They  do  not  occur  in  the 
other  MSS.  Brath,  son  of  Deagath  or 
Deagfath,  as  Keating  calls  him  (see  also 
line  125),  was  the  leader  of  the  migra- 
tion from  Gaethluighe  into  Spain,  about 


the  time  of  the  destruction  of  Troy ;  Ogyg. 
p.  82.  He  was  the  nineteenth  in  descent 
from  Fenius.  The  course  here  assigned 
to  Brath  is  northwards,  which  is  scarcely 
consistent  with  any  of  the  opinions  on  the 
situation  of  Gaethluighe  with  respect  to 
Spain.— (T.) 

8  Gaethligh. — The  same  place  which  was 
called  Golgotha,  line  109.  See  above, 
p.  235,  note  d._(T.) 

h  Tarrian — Muir  Tarrian,  or  the  sea 
Tarrian,  is  the  Mediterranean — (T.) 

1  Creid,  i.  e.,  They  sailed  by  Crete  and 
Sicily,  through  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar,  to 
Spain.  Immediately  after  this  stanza  the 
Book  of  Leinster  gives  the  stanza  begin- 
ning 6a  mbpencpacc  DO  pala,  which  it 
repeats  again  (lines  137-140).  N.  gives 


pec  colomna  hfpcuil  aobuil 
ohGppam  inolib. 

Ua  Oeaca  pumo  Don  pigpam 

pigDa  in  popano 
gebfp  Gppam  in  pfp  popoll 


125 


in  c 


am  in  na 
na  cec  naipecli, 

it  here,  but  does  not  repeat  it  in  the 
second  place.  It  is  evidently  misplaced 
here,  and  has  therefore  been  omitted. — 
(7'.) 

J  PcitiiiHiilur — .The  word  inolib  is  per- 
haps from  moe,  a  point.  And  if  so,  it 
will  signify  here  "Spain  the  pointed,"  that 
is,  running  out  into  a  point,  peninsular. 
It  might  signify  also  herds  of  cattle,  and 
then  the  meaning  would  be  "  Spain  rich 
iu  cattle,"  which  might  perhaps  allude  to 
the  classical  fable  of  Hercules  seizing  the 
cattle  of  Geryon.  But  this  latter  trans- 
lation is  not  so  probable  as  the  former 

(T.) 

k  Deatha — The  father  of  Brath,  who 
was  mentioned  before  under  the  name  of 
Deagath,  which  is  only  a  different  spell- 
ing. See  line  1 1 3,  and  note.  This  passage 
is  very  corrupt  in  all  the  copies.  L.  reads 
hua  beacha  bin  pijpum.  N.  has  uabe 
acu  puaib  bon  piojpuib.  The  meaning, 
however,  is  evidently  what  I  have  given 
in  the  translation,  although  I  cannot  alto- 


cacpac 

130 
cop 

gether  correct  the  text — (T.) 

^ His  companions. — popanb  is  an  ancient 
form  of  puipenb,  the  crew,  attendants,  or 
companions.  L.,  however,  reads  pi^ba 
tpebuno,  a  royal  chief,  or  tribune  ;  and 
N.  reads  piojba  in  poplann,  "royal  the 
power  or  force." — (T.) 

m  The  man. — For  the  meaning  of  in  ci, 
see  above,  p.  207,  note  f.  Breogan,  son  of 
Breath  (see  above,  p.  237,  note '),  succeeded 
his  father,  as  king  of  the  Spanish  posses- 
sions of  the  tribe,  according  to  O'Flaherty, 
in  the  year  of  the  world  2767.  Ogyg. 
p.  83  ;  Keating  (Haliday's  Edit.),  p.  255. 
-(TV) 

n  Brigantia The  Flavium  Brigantium 

of  antiquity  is  the  port  of  Betanzos  in 
Spanish  Gallicia;  and  it  would  have  been 
as  completely  unknown  in  Ireland  as  any- 
other  port  in  Spain,  but  for  a  passage  in 
the  first  Book  of  Orosius,  copied  into 
the  third  of  those  geographical  epitomes, 
which  usually  bear  the  name  of  Jithicus 
Ister:  "Secundus  angulus  circium  in  ten- 


239 

By  the  columns  of  the  mighty  Hercules, 
To  Espain  the  peninsular j. 

The  grandson  of  the  red  Deathak  of  the  royal  line, 

Royal  his  companions1, 
Took  Espain,  the  very  great  man, 

The  manm  Bregond. 

Brigantia"  was  the  name  of  the  city 
Of  an  hundred  chieftains; 


I25 


130 
The 


dit  ubi  Brigantia  Callecitc  civitas  sita,  al- 
tissimum  pharum,  et  inter  pauca  memo- 
randi  operis,  ad  speculum  Britannia?  erigi- 
tur." — Oros.  p.  26,  /Ethic,  p.  61.  Ed.  Gro- 
novii.  The  farum,  or  pharos,  light-house, 
is  the  Tower  of  Breagon  (v.  131 ),  and  the 
words  "  ad  speculum"  gave  rise  to  the  ab- 
surd notion  that  Ireland  was  visible  from 
Betanzos.  They  were  probably  written 
when  those  who  did  not  wish  to  be  burn- 
ed in  their  beds  kept  a  sharp  look  out 
for  vessels  from  Britain.  However,  the 
story  hath  its  foundation  in  the  cited 
passage  of  Orosius,  and  in  one  subse- 
quent, which  mentions  Ireland,  and  is  as 
follows:  "Hibernia  insula,  inter  Britan- 
niam  et  Hispaniam  sita,  longiore,  ab 
Africo  in  boream,  spatio  porrigitur.  Hu- 
jus  partes  priores  intents;  Cantabrico 
oceano  Brigantiam  Callecise  civitatem,  ab 
Africo  sibi  in  circium  occurrentem,  spa- 
tioso  intervallo  procul  spectant ;  ab  eo  pras- 
cipue  promontorio,  ubi  Scenaa  [Shannon] 
rtuminis  ostium  est,  et  Velabri  Lucenique 


consistunt." — p.  28.  Havercamp. 

Observe  the  progress  of  falsehood.  This 
excellent  writer  simply  says  spectant,  the 
shores  of  south-west  Ireland  looked  or 
facedin  that  direction ;  and  states  (perhaps 
falsely,  but  possibly  with  truth),  that  the 
tower  of  Betanzos  was  erected  for  the  pur- 
pose of  watching  these  islands,  "  ad  »pecu- 
lum  Britannia;" ;  and  hence,  we  are  told 
by  Malmura,  that  "  Erin  was  seen  from 
the  Tower."  Being  discovered  on  a  win- 
ter's evening,  it  would  seem  to  have  been 
peculiarly  visible  in  the  dark. 

The  Brigantes  were,  perhaps,  the  great- 
est of  the  tribes  or  nations  inhabiting 
Britain;  and  their  country  reached  from 
shore  to  shore,  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Humber  or  Trent,  to  that  of  the  Eden. 
Therefore,  if  the  names  Breagon  and  Bri- 
gant  could  be  shewn  identical  (which  they 
cannot),  it  would  be  sufficiently  apparent 
from  whence  the  former  came  into  Ire- 
land.—( 


240 


cop  rh-bpfsom  appaiDe  in  pubac 
poppa  puioea. 

SaipcuaiD  ap  cup  accfpp  hGpinn 

DO  me  Lumnig; 
pfpcup  gfmpiD  pop  puaip  Ich 

mac  bpfjoin 


6a  m-bpfnepacc  DO  pala, 

co  luce  a  rejlaij, 
cecna  mapb  Dia  cenel  congbaiD 

bebla  Slemnaib. 

Saipofp  bpfclia  Ich  in  Gppdm 

lap  na  bpfgaib 
cpfn  Dollocap  meic  mil  TTlile 


140 


Dia 


0  Tower  of  Breogan — See  the  story  in 
Keating  (Haliday's  edit.  p.  261).  This 
tower,  intended  as  a  sort  of  pharos,  or 
watch-tower,  is  said  by  Keating  (p.  255) 
to  have  been  erected  in  Corunna.  See 
Dr.  Wilde's  communication  to  the  Royal 
Irish  Academy  on  the  remains  of  the 
Pharos  of  Corunna.— Proceedings  of  the 
Academy,  May  13,  1844.  In  L.,  line  130, 
is  cecaib  aipeach,  and  in  the  next  line, 
for  appaioe  in  pubac,  we  have  a  puibe 
pubach — (T.) 

P  Was  seen — poocep,  L — (T.) 
q  Luimnech. — oep  h-iap  poipino,  L.   In 
the  next  line,  for  pop  L.  reads  pop,  and 
omits  buionig  in  line  136.     The  land  of 


Oono 


Luimnech  was  the  country  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Shannon,  from  the  present  city  of 
Limerick  to  the  sea. — (T). 

'  Brentracht. — The  plain  called  Magh 
Ithe  (or  the  plain  of  Ith,  son  of  Breogan), 
through  which  flows  the  river  Fin  ;  it  is 
the  district  now  called  the  Laggan,  Co. 
Donegal.  Keating  calls  it  bpenrpacc 
mhaije  Ire  (Haliday's  edit.),  p.  262.  See 
also  the  Book  of  Ballymote,  fol.  20,  b., 
and  the  Leabhar  Gabhala  of  O'Clery, 
page  69.  There  is  another  place  called 
Magh  Itha,  in  Leinster,  which,  accord- 
ing to  another  account,  was  the  place  at 
which  Ith  first  landed;  and  the  northern 
Magh  Itha  received  its  name  from  being 


241 


The  tower  of  Breogan0,  his  delightful  seat 
On  which  he  sat. 

North-east  from  the  tower  was  seenp  Eri, 

As  far  as  the  land  of  Luimnechq; 
On  a  winter's  evening  was  it  discovered  by  Ith, 

Son  of  Breogan,  ruler  of  troops. 

It  was  at  Brentracht1  he  landed 

With  the  people  of  his  household, 
He  was  the  first  of  his  conquering  tribe  who  died, 

He  died  at  Slemnaibh8. 

South-eastwards  Ith  is  carried  to  Spain, 

His  strength  being  gone', 
With  might  the  sons  of  brave  Miledh  returned 

To  revenge  him. 


140 


Donn, 


the  place  where  Ith  was  interred.  Keat- 
ing,  p.  267.-(ZT.) 

5  Slemnaibh. — Keating  says,  that  some 
historians  mention  Drumlighean,  (now 
Drumleen,  on  the  Foyle,  near  Lifford),  as 
the  place  of  Ith's  death ;  but  others  assert 
that  he  died  at  sea,  and  that  his  body  was 
carried  to  Spain  to  excite  his  relatives  to 
revenge.  Keating,  p.  267.  Leabhar  Gab- 
hala,  p.  70.  This  latter  account  appears 
to  be  adopted  by  our  author.  Where 
Slemnaibh  is  I  do  not  know;  but  the 
scribe  has  added,  no.  loci,  i.  e.  nomeu  loci. 
L.  reads  pop  pu  penmuip,  and  in  line  138, 
lim  a  ceglaich.  The  following  account 
of  Ith's  death  is  given  in  the  Book  of  Le- 
can  (fol.  12):  Celebpuip  hlr  ooib,  -j  cfie 

IRISH  ARCH.  SOC.   1 6.  2 


oocum  a  luinje.  lappin  po  lapec  poplin 
na  noiaij  co  pon  jonpac  a  ITluij  Icha. 
Ro  piacr  cneoach  puilcepeppnec  oo  cum 
a  luinje, -|  aobarh  mpum  pop  muip.  t)o 
opcacap  oemna  pep  DO  mumcip  hlra  .1. 
OlUim  a  amm  ipe  ceo  mapb  Gpfnn  DO 
pil  ^aioil.  "  Ith  took  his  leave  of  them 
and  went  to  his  ship.  After  that  they  sent 
a  company  after  them,  and  they  wounded 
him  in  Magh  Itha.  He  reached,  wounded 
and  blood-dropping,  his  ship,  and  lie  died 
afterwards  on  the  sea.  Demons  killed  a 
man  of  Ith's  people,  Ollum  was  his  name. 
He  was  the  first  dead  in  Eri,  of  the  seed 
ofGaedhal."— (T.) 

c  His  strength  being  gone,  i.  e.  being 
killed  or  mortally  wounded.  L.  reads 
I 


242 

Oono  Colprct  Qmaipsfn  glun  gel  145 

pfp  cpfn  cfpec 
Ip  pceo  Gbfp  hfpimon 

pe  meic  TTlileD. 

TTlac  Irha  Cugaio  cam  cpecac 

copcpach  carhac  1  50 

Oap  Ifp  lechan  Dolluio 

DO  oigail  a  arhap. 

bui  bpfgain  bpufmapa  beot»a, 

peib  pop  pfme 
6loD,  Copp,  Cualgne,  Ri^bapo  155 

Uigfpn  mac 


bacap  cechpi  achij  piece 

nip  bo  uabop 
ic  ippai  nappij  cfn  haigul 

pop  pin  c 


SluinDpecpa  Duib  uili  a  nanmano  160 

map  Dop  paepaig 
lap  na  n-apim  boi  t)iap  Oi'b 

i  pail  cec  ofnpip. 

Gione 

iap  mbap  mbpijaich,   "  after  a  becom-  here    evidently   the    signification    of  en- 

ing  death  ;"  and  in  the   next  two  lines,  dowed  with  lands,  wide-ruling;  in  which 

DO   looap  meic    Niul    mic    6ile,    floj  sense  it  is  applied  as  a  surname  to  Aongus 

oia  oijail  ;   "  the  sons  of  Niul,  the  sons  Tirech,  King  of  Munster,  so  called  because 

of  Bile,   came,  a  host,  to  revenge  him."  he  was  fabled  to  have  made  extensive  con- 

Bile  was  the  father  of  Milesius,    and  a  quests  in  Europe.  Book  of  Munster  (MS. 

descendant  of  Niul  —  (T.)  Royal  Irish  Academy),  p.  32.  —  (T.) 

u  Wide-ruling.  —  The    word   cipec   has  v  Descendants.  —  The   MS.    reads   bui, 


243 

Donn,  Colptha,  Amergin  of  the  white  knee,  145 

A  hero  mighty,  wide-ruling"; 
Ir  and  Eber,  Herimon, 

The  six  sons  of  Miledh. 

The  son  of  Ith,  Lugaid,  the  fair,  the  plundering, 

Victorious,  warlike,  150 

Over  the  wide  sea  passed 
To  avenge  his  father. 

The  descendantsv  of  Breogan,  ardent,  vigorous, 

As  we  enumerated  them, 
Blod,  Corp,  Cualgne,  Eighbhard,  155 

Tighern,  son  of  Brig. 

There  were  also  four  and  twenty  plebeians'1, 

Who  were  not  proud, 
To  attend  on  the  chiefs  without  fail 

In  the  expedition.  160 

I  shall  recite  unto  you  all  their  names, 

As  I  havey  received  them, 
After  their  enumeration;  there  were  two  of  them 

In  attendance  on  each  chieftain. 

Aidhne 

which   is    also   followed   by  N.,    but    L.  Milesius,   was  the  son  of  Breogan.     Ith 

reads  heu.     I  have  ventured  to  translate  was  also  the  son  of  Breogan.     Therefore, 

as  if  the  reading    was    hui,   the  descen-  Lugaid  was  grandson,  and  all  the  others 

dants,  grandsons,  posterity,  a  conjectural  mentioned  in  the  text,  great-grandsons  of 

emendation  suggested  by  Mr.  O'Donovan,  Breogan — (T.) 

which  seems  necessary  for  the  sense.    The          *  Plebeians This  quatrain  is  omitted 

adjectives   bpucmapa  and  beooa,  being      in  L (T.) 

plural,  require  a  plural  substantive.    For          y  As  I  have L.  reads  ap  pono  po  epij. 

beo&a  L.  reads  pip.     Bile,  the  father  of  —  (T.) 

^  12 


244 


Qione  Qile  CIppal  TTlicce 

TTlopba  TTlioe 
Cuib  Cliu  Cfpa  Saip  Slan  Lije 

Lipe  Line. 

Ligfn  Upaij  Oollocap  Gipe 

Nai  Ofpp  Ctine 
pea  popuaip  mfnlec  rh-bpogai 

pfmin  pfpa. 

pop  Dailpec  clano  bpeojam  buionec 

ba  jfn  mibail, 
comnp  po^naimche  na  cpfnpip 

DO  na  pijaib. 

Rue  Cpuifne  mac  Cinje  a  mna  uaoib 

poppap  n-Dipec 
mge  Uea  hfn  hfpimoin, 

mic  TTlileo. 

TTlop  paechaip  cepaic  uili 
pop  cac  rh-buuDpe 


170 


'75 


180 


la 


1  Obtained. — L.  reads  peu  po  uaip  min 
jel  in  poja.  The  twenty-four  names  are 
very  corruptly  given  in  L.  They  are  as 
follows  :  Gione,  Qi,  Qpal,  ITleioi,  ITIop- 
ba,  niioi,  Cuip,  Cliu,  Cepu,  Seip,  Slun, 
6156,  tipe,  /'-iSjan,  Cpai5,  Dul,  Qpao, 
Qipe,  Nac,  Cep,  6ne,  peu,  peimin, 
pepa.  Other  variations  occur  in  the  list 
given  by  Keating,  p.  307,  who  makes  the 
number  of  chieftains  much  more  than 
twelve,  and  says  nothing  of  two  servants 


being  assigned  to  each.  Forty-one  names 
are  given  in  tho  poetical  list  of  the  chief- 
tains enumerated  in  the  verses  beginning 
Coipp'gh  MU  lomjpi  cap  lep,  "  The  chief- 
tains of  the  ships  over  the  sea,"  attri- 
buted to  Eochy  O'Flynn,  and  preserved 
in  the  Leabhar  Gabhala  of  the  O'Clerys, 
p.  7 1 ;  and  U'Flaherty  says,  "  Duces  pr»- 
cipui  Ilibernicse  expeditionis  erant  nu- 
mero  quadraginti." — Ogyg.  iii.  c.  4,  p.  1 82. 
-(T.) 


245 

Aidhne,  Aile,  Assal,  Mitte,  165 

Morba,  Mide, 
Cuib,  Cliu,  Cera,  Sair,  Slan,  Lighe, 

Life,  Line. 

Ligean,  Traig,  Dollotar,  Aire, 

Nai,  Dess,  Aine,  17° 

Fea,  who  obtained2  a  fertile  territory, 

Femin,  Fera. 

The  sons  of  the  fruitful  Breogan  decided, 

It  was  done  without  deceit, 
That  these  stout  yeomen"  should  be  attendants  175 

Upon  the  kings. 

Cruithne,  son  of'Cing,  took  their  womenb  from  them, 

It  is  directly  stated, 
Except  Tea,  wife  of  Herimon, 

SonofMiledh.  180 

Great  labour6  did  they  all  undergo 

In  every  tumult, 

With 

1  Yeomen. — On  the  word  na  is  the  note  represents  the  King  of  Britain  as  settling 

in  the  margin  no  in,  i.e.  "or  in." — (T.)  the  Scythian  Peohtes  in  Catenes  (Caith- 

b  Took  their  women. — The  other  accounts  ness).  But  the  Britons  scorned  to  give  them 

represent  the  women  as  having  been  wives.  So  they  asked  and  obtained  women 

given  to  Cruithne  with  the  consent  of  from  Gilla  Caor,  King  of  Ireland.  And 

Herimon.   Our  author  seems  to  intimate 

Thurh  tha  like  wifmen  .... 
here  that  they  were  taken  by  force.  Comp.  That  fo]e  gan  w  spelien 

lines    215-218.      Tea,  wife  of  Herimon  Irlondes  speche.  ».  10069. 
was  daughter  of  Lughadh,   son  of  Ith. 

(21)      I  may   snatch  occasion   to  note  This  assumes  as  notorious  the  fact,  that 

here,  what  I  ought  to  have  said  Addit.  they  did  speak  that  language. — (H.) 

Notes,  line  1 9,  page  xli.     Old  Layamon  c  Great  labour. — This  is  very  obscure  ; 


246 


la  mna  bpfppe  la  mnd  bap pe 
la  mna  buaigne. 

banba  a  pleib  TTIipp  co  na  pln 

yipiuc  ruiplec 
p6cla  in  Gblinne  apnac 

hGpiu  in  Uiynpic. 

Qoocoppac  Uuafa  Oea 

cnia  cfpc  clirac, 
o  cfp  riDac  oap  noi  ronnaih 

oon  lip  leran. 

l?o  gab  hepimon  colleic  in 

lap  n-upo  rolgoai 
cimcell  acuaio  ba  jfn  mfpgle 

o'mbfp  Cholpfai. 


185 


190 


'95 


the  meaning  seems  to  be,  either  that  the 
Picts  had  to  sustain  great  labours  and 
contests  in  order  to  obtain  their  wives  ; 
or  that,  after  obtaining  them,  they  had  to 
endure  great  labour  before  they  acquiied 
a  permanent  settlement.  See  Add.  Notes, 
p.  Ixx.,  and  Keating  (Haliday's  ed.), 

P-  317— (r.) 

d  Banba This  quatrain  is  quoted  by 

Keating,  p.  288.  Banba,  Fothla,  and  Eire, 
were  the  three  queens  of  the  Tuatha  De 
Danaan,  wives  of  the  sons  of  Carmad, 
who  held  the  sovereignty  of  Ireland  on 
the  arrival  of  the  Milesians.  Sliabh  Mis, 
which  still  retains  its  name,  is  a  moun- 
tain south-west  of  Tralee,  in  the  county  of 
Kerry.  Sliabh  Ebhline,  now  Sleibhte 


Ro 

Ebhlinue,  is  a  range  of  mountains  begin- 
ning in  the  barony  of  Owneybeg  and  Coo- 
nagh,  in  the  county  of  Limerick,  and 
extending  in  the  direction  of  Nenagh  and 
Cashel,  in  the  county  of  Tipperary.  Uis- 
neach,  or  Usnagh,  is  a  hill  still  bearing 
the  name,  about  four  miles  from  Ballymore 
Lough  Sewdy,  in  the  county  of  West- 
meath.  In  line  184.  L.  reads  pepech 
cuipleao.  N.  reads  fipiur  cuipleac  (a 
mistake,  probably,  for  cuipleac)and  Keat- 
ing (in  Halliday's  edit.),  peirpeac,  ruip- 
leac.  These  differences  are  merely  dif- 
ferences of  spelling ( T.) 

*  Sent  them,  i.e.  sent  the  Milesians  away. 
In  line  1 88,  L.  reads  cpe  chepr  cpechach, 
"  with  plundering  might,"  i.  e.  irresisti- 


247 


With  the  wife  of  Bress,  the  wife  of  Bass, 
And  the  wife  of  Buaighne. 

They  fought  Banbad  at  Sliebh  Mis  with  her  hosts, 

Faint,  wearied; 
They  fought  Fothla  at  Ebhlinne,  murmuring, 

Eire  at  Uisneach. 

The  Tuatha  Dea  sent  them"  forth, 

According  to  the  laws  of  warf, 
From  the  firm  land  over  nine  waves 

Of  the  broad  sea. 

Herimon  wents  forth  with  half  the  host 

In  proud  array, 
Round  the  north  (it  was  without  sorrow), 

To  Inbher  Colptha". 


185 


190 


'95 
Donn 


ble.  In  the  next  line  the  same  MS.  has 
o  chip  rhaichlech,  "from  the  pleasant 
land."— (T.) 

f  Laws  of  war. — The  story  here  alluded 
to  is  given  by  Keating,  p.  291.  The  Mile- 
sians demanded  a  settlement  in  the  coun- 
try, or  a  battle.  The  Tuatha  De  Danaan 
offered  to  leave  the  decision  of  this  ques- 
tion to  the  Milesian  judge,  Amergin,  who 
was  bound  to  give  judgment  according 
to  law.  He  decided  against  his  own  bre- 
thren; but  enjoined  that  the  Milesians 
should  re-embark,  and  go  to  sea,  a  dis- 
tance of  nine  waves,  and  that  then,  if  they 
could  effect  a  landing  against  the  forces 
of  the  Tuatha  De  Danaan,  the  country 


should  be  their's.  This  was  agreed  to  by 
both  sides.  The  words  in  which  Amergin 
is  said  to  have  pronounced  his  judgment 
are  preserved  in  the  Leabhar  Gabhala  of 
the  O'Clerys,  p.  72,  where  they  are  inter- 
preted by  a  copious  gloss,  being  in  an 
ancient  and  nearly  obsolete  dialect  of 

Irish.— (I*)- 

8  Went. — L.  reads  lu  ID  :  and  in  the  next 
line  lap  cumo  colc&a,  "upon  the  proud 
waves."  In  line  193  the  same  MS.  has 
cimcheall  an  cuaio  bam  cun  mepjjja. — 
(T.) 

h  Inbher  Colptha. — The  bay  of  Colpa,  son 
of  Milesius,who  was  drowned  there :  Keat- 
ing, p.  293.  This  is  the  name  still  given 


248 


l?o  gab  Oono  t>o  pin  leir  aile 

lap  n-upo  innaipp 
ba  mapb  ic  apcnam  cfn  comaip 

ofpcfpc  h-ippaip. 

Co  cuapcbao  copn  la  lia  a  cfneoil 

ap  lip  lerac 
pfn  rpeb  roncec  conio  cec  Ouinn 

DC  t>on  japap. 

ba  h-epin  a  h-eoacc  anbul 

t>ia  claino  cecaich 
cucum  Dotn  oc  cippaio  uili 

lap  bap  n-ecaib. 

Ic  inbiup  Scfne  po  paupper 

peel  cfn  Dunan 

ppuu  Dian  ofpmap  in  pop  pofpaic 
bfn  Lujoac. 


200 


205 


2  IO 

Rop 


to  the  mouth  of  the  river  Boyne  at 
Drogheda.— (T.) 

1  Without  strength. — Cen  cunjaip,  L. 
For  the  story  of  Donn's  shipwreck  see 
Keating,  p.  293. — (T.) 

i  Irnis. — From  this  it  appears  that  the 
south-western  promontory  of  Kerry  was 
anciently  called  Irrus,  or  the  western  pro- 
montory, for  it  was  there  that  the  ship- 
wreck, according  to  all  tradition,  took 
place— (T.) 

*  Tech  Duinn,  or  the  House  of  Donn. 
See  above,  p.  56,  note  ™.  It  would  be  very 


desirable  to  ascertain  whether  the  islands 
at  the  mouth  of  Kenmare  river,  one  of 
which  is  now  identified  by  tradition  with 
Tech  Duinn,  contain  earns,  or  other  traces 
of  a  pagan  burying  ground.  From  their 
inaccessible  situation  it  is  not  likely  that 
any  rude  monuments  they  may  contain 
have  been  much  disturbed.  The  words 
"  stone  of  his  race"  probably  allude  to  a 
custom  of  later  date,  when  an  inscribed 
stone,  marking  the  name,  family,  or  rank 
of  the  deceased,  was  placed  over  his  grave. 
For  co  cuapcbao,  line  199,  L.  reads  ap 


249 

Donn  went  with  the  other  half 

In  progressive  order, 
He  died  as  he  was  sailing,  without  strength', 

At  the  south  of  Irrus3. 

There  was  raised  for  him  a  cairn  with  the  stone  of  his  race, 
Over  the  broad  sea,  200 

An  ancient  stormy  dwelling;  and  Tech  Duinn", 
It  is  called. 

This  was1  his  great  testament 

To  his  numerous  children, 
"  To  me,  to  my  house,  come  ye  all  205 

After  your  deaths." 

At  Inbher  Scenem  they  landed, 

The  story  is  not  concealed, 
The  rapid  great  stream  in  which  bathed 

FiaP,  wife  of  Lughadh.  2 1  o 

They 

cocbab ;  and  in  line  200,  uaiple  ap  lain-  of  Amergin,  who  was  there  drowned.  See 

cheach ;  also  in  the  next  line  poncec,  bold,  Keating,  p.  296 ;  Duald  Mac  Firbis,  Genea- 

daring,  for  contec,  boisterous,  wave-bea-  logies    (Marquis     of  Drogheda's    copy), 

ten — C^1-)  P-  45-     Inbher   Skene   was    the   ancient 

lThiswos. — L.  reads  Combai  cfcachrao-  name  of  the  mouth  of  the  river  Corrane, 

bul.  From  this  quatrain  it  appears  that  the  in  the  Co.  Kerry (T.) 

island  called  Tech  Duinn  was  believed  to          "  Fial. — The  following  account  of  the 

be  the  burial  place  of  Bonn's  posterity.    I  death  of  Fial,  who  was  the  daughter  of 

am  not  aware  that  it  has  ever  been  exa-  Milesius  and  wife  of  Lughad,  son  of  Ith, 

mined  by  any  competent  antiquary,  with  is  given  in  the  Leabhar  Gabhala,  p.  74  : 

a  view  to  test  this  tradition — (T.)  lp  m  oioche  i  canyioap    meic    TDileo 

m  Inbher  Scene,  the  mouth  of  the  river  in  Cpinn,  comaoim  loch  Cuijoeach  po 

Skean ;  so  called  from  Scene  Dulsaine,  wife  cip  in  iap  ITluriiain.     Oiu  mbaoi 

IKISH  AECH.  SOC.    1 6.  2  K 


25° 

Rop  oailpfc  po  h-Gpint>  opaij 

map  acbfpio 
Snfpfc  copa  ppi  pipu  6olg 

ppi  clano  Nemio. 

Nip  bacap  mna  poipbe  pofpe 

ce  a  noglea 
dp  n-jaic  a  m-ban  jabpac  clfmnap 

Uuac  Oea. 

Oo  bpfc  t>6ib  lech  cec  apba 

co  muip  meobap, 
mpp  in  capooine  coip  comofp, 

lapp  in  clfmnap. 

Ro  jab  hfpimon  in  cuapcfpc 

Du  Dia  cinnio, 
Co  na  pfncup,  co  na  poluo, 

co  na 


215 


220 


225 

Co 


mac  locha  ja  pocpaij  ipm  loch,  -|  Fial 
mjfn  IDileo  a  bean  occa  pocpai^  ipn 
loch.  Do  luio  fyujab  juy  an  ou  i 
mbaoi  an  m^fn  of  e  nocc  •)  opo  pU  paip 
pamlaio  acbail  oo  naipe  po  checoip,  -\ 
ap  uaire  anmnijcep  an  abann  con  a 
mb'ep.  "  It  was  on  the  night  on  which 
the  Milesians  landed  in  Eri,  that  Loch 
Luighdheach  [in  Kerry]  broke  out  of 
the  earth  in  West  Munster.  Lughaidh, 
son  of  Ith,  was  bathing  in  the  lake,  and 
Fial,  daughter  of  Miledh,  his  wife,  was 
with  him  bathing  in  the  river  that  runs 


out  of  the  lake.  Lughaidh  came  on  shore 
where  the  woman  was  naked,  and  she 
thought  it  was  another  man,  and  died  of 
shame  immediately.  And  from  her  the 
river  and  its  mouth  have  their  name." 
Then  follows,  in  the  Leabhar  Gabhala,  a 
poem,  said  to  have  been  composed  by 
Lughaidh  on  the  occasion.  See  Keating 
(Haliday's  Edit.)  p.  96.— (TV) 

0  Tuatha  Dea. — According  to  this  ac- 
count, the  Milesians  formed  alliances  with 
all  the  tribes  in  possession  of  the  country. 
This  fact,  which,  if  true,  would  account  for 


They  spread  themselves  through  Eri,  to  her  coasts, 

As  is  recorded, 
They  made  an  alliance  with  the  Firbolg, 

And  with  the  sons  of  Nemhedh. 

There  were  no  charming,  noble  wives  2 1 5 

For  their  young  men; 
Their  women  having  been  stolen,  they  made  alliance 

With  the  Tuatha  Deac. 

Unto  them  was  given"  the  half  of  all  the  land, 

To  the  boisterous  sea,  220 

After  this  just  and  judicious  league, 
And  after  this  alliance. 

Herimon  tookq  the  north 

As  the  inheritance  of  his  race, 
With  their  antiquity,  with  their  prosperity,  225 

With  their  rights ; 

With 

the  difference  of  race  so  manifest  in  the  cona  cholach,  cona  olijeao.  After  line 

mere  Irish  population,  is  not  mentioned  224,  there  is  an  omission  in  N.  of  eighty- 

by  Keating  or  other  popular  historians.  eight  lines.  All  the  ancient  Irish  writers 

L.  reads  in  v.  216,  cia  po  njlea;  and  for  agree  that  Herimon  possessed  the  north- 

ap  njaic,  in  the  next  line,  capojapc ern,  and  Heber  the  southern  parts  of 

(T.)  Ireland,  and  yet  Giraldus  Cambrensis  re- 

p  Was  given. — Oopaca,  L.  For  apba  verses  this  division  in  his  Topographia 

the  same  MS.  reads  popba,  which  is  evi-  Hiber.  D.  III.  e.  6.  Camd.  p.  737:  "Pro- 

dently  the  meaning  ;  and  in  the  next  line,  cedente  vero  tempore  duo  istorum  nomi- 

tneblap  for  rneobap.  In  line  221,  lap  natissimi  Hibernis  scilicit  et  Herymon 

pin  chaipc  Tnichmm  chombpup — (T.)  duas  in  partes  asquales,  regnum  inter  se 

q  Took. — 5a^aT'  1".  In  the  next  line  diviserunt.  Herymoni  cessit  pars  Aus- 

L.  has  cona  ch  mean,  "  with  his  race  ;"  tralis:  Hebero  quidem  Aquilonaris."  To 

and  in  lines  225,  226,  cona  peanchop,  this  day,  however,  the  people  of  Munster 


2J2 

Co  na  n-ounib,  co  na  cacaib, 

jaipse  pfgre, 
co  na  n-oebchaige  rpia  oibhne, 

co  na  cechpe.  230 

17o  gab  Gbfp  ofpcfpr  nhGpenn, 

opD  po  cinmup, 
co  na  urmaille,  cona  covnmup, 

co  na  binniup. 

Co  na  buaoaib,  co  na  h-uile,  235 

co  na  aege, 
co  na  ofppaiDe  cpia  oupe, 

co  na  chame,  co  na  Dene. 

Do  claino  hfpimom  DO  Cajnib 

luar  co  clocoa,  240 

Lech  Cumo,  Connacc,  Niall  pappe, 

Nial  inD  pocta. 

pocapc 

are  called  Sliocc  Gibip.    "  Errat  autcm  "  With  its  pride,  with  its  wars. 

Giraldus  in   dimidio  Austral!   tribuundo  «%*  fc»  ahoute  of  distress, 

Heremoni,  &c.,  cum  omnes   antiqui  uno  With  its  failures  from  its  rashness, 

...                                                        .  With  its  wings."— (T.) 
ore  ei  tribuant  Borealcm,  et  Hcbero  Aus- 

tralem."     Dr.  O'Conor,  in  Ann.  4  Mag.  s  Power. — The   MS.    here    reads   cun 

p.  10,  note  i. — (T.)  cornmup,  but  the  context  shows  that  the 

r  Fortresses — Here  again   in  the    text  scribe  intended  to  write  cona,  and  I  have 

we  have  cona  nounib,   "  with  their  for-  altered  it  accordingly.     L.  reads  cen  cho- 

tresses,"  which  is  inconsistent  with  the  map,   "  without  power." — (T.) 

context,   and   ought  to  be  con  a  ounib.  '  Harmony. — Alluding,  perhaps,  to  the 

L.  reads :  legend,  which  will  be  found  in  Keating, 

Con  u  oiumap,  con  a  chaochai  p.  306,  of  Cir,  son  of  Cis,  the  poet,  having 

JJaipchup  615™  been  allotted  to  Herimon,  and  Onee,  the 

Cona  cheipchich  cpia  opni  harper,  to  Heber. — (T.) 

con  a  eicpi.  "  Grandeur. — L.    reads    cona    umla, 


253 


With  its  fortressesr,  with  its  troops, 

Fierce,  active; 
With  their  rash  fights, 

With  their  cattle. 

Eber  took  the  south  of  Eri, 

The  order  was  so  agreed  on, 
With  its  activity,  with  its  power5, 

With  its  harmony1; 

With  its  victories,  with  its  grandeur", 

With  its  hospitality, 
With  its  vivacity  combined  with  hardiness, 

With  its  loveliness,  with  its  purity. 

Of  the  race  of  Herimon  are  the  Lagenians*, 

Of  fame  renownedy, 
Leth-Cuinn,  Conacht,  Niall  of  the  south, 

Niall  of  the  North. 


230 


235 


240 


humility,  or  submission  ;  and,  in  the  next 
line,  cona  peiji;  in  line  237,  for  cpia 
oupe,  L.  has  cen  ouipi,  "  without  harsh- 
ness," and  in  line  238,  cona  peile,  "  with, 
its  festivity," omitting  cona  chaipe. — (T.) 
K  Lagenians,  i.  e.  the  families  of  Lein- 
ster.  Ugaine  Mor,  king  of  Ireland,  whose 
reign  commenced,  according  to  O'Fla- 
herty,  A.M.  3619,  was  a  lineal  descen- 
dant of  Herimon;  and  to  his  son,  Laeghaire 
Lore,  are  traced  the  O'Conors  of  Offaly, 
O'Tooles,  O'Byrnes,  Mac  Murroughs, 
Mac  Gillpatricks,  and  all  the  great  fami- 
lies of  Leinster.  Ugaine  is  also  the  ances- 
tor of  Con  of  the  Hundred  Battles,  and 


The 

of  all  the  septs  called  Hy  Niall,  seated  in 
Meath  and  Ulster ;  also  of  the  families  of 
Leath  Cuinn,  or  the  northern  half  of  Ire- 
land, with  the  exception  of  the  Clanna 
Rudhraighe,  and  some  minor  families. 
The  great  families  of  Connaught  also,  as 
the  O'Conors,  O'Flahertys,  O'Dowdas, 
O'Heynes,  O'Shaughnessys,  &c.,  who  are 
chiefly  of  the  race  of  Eochaidh  Muighmh- 
eadhoin,  and  therefore  belong  to  the  family 
of  Ugaine  Mor,  and  the  line  of  Herimon. 
-(T.) 

y  Renowned. — L.  reads  luao  can  cloch- 
na.  The  word  pappe,  in  the  next  line,  is 
explained  in  Cormac's  Glossary,  .1.  oeip- 


254 

porape,  na  Ofpi,  TTloj  Lama, 

la  cuji  Cuatnje, 
pip  Oalpiacai,  Co]ica  pinne, 

ip  Copcu  pofoa. 

I?i5paio  clainne  Gcac  uili  Oomblfn, 

cuip  Docelaib, 
Ip  pijpao  Qipjiall  a  buicne, 

co  loch  pebail. 


245 


cipc,  i.  e.  the  soutb,  and  lias  been  so 
translated  ;  but  L.  reads  here,  Niall 

pino  paichle (T.) 

'•  The  Fotharlf — These  were  the  de- 
scendants of  Eochaidh  Finn  Fothart,  son  of 
Fedhlimidh  Rechtmhar,  King  of  Ireland, 
A.  D.  164.  He  was  banished  from  Meath, 
then  the  seat  of  the  kings,  by  his  nephew, 
Art  Aenair,  who  began  his  reign,  accord- 
ing to  O'Flaherty,  A.  D.  220. — Ogyg.  iii. 
c.  64.  The  posterity  of  Eochaidh  Finn  Fo- 
thart settled  in  various  parts  of  Leinster, 
and  the  baronies  of  Fothart  or  Forth,  in 
the  counties  of  Carlow  and  Wexford,  still 
retain  their  name.  The  Deisi  were  the 
descendants  of  Fiacha  Suighdhe,  son  of 
Fedhlimidh  Rechtmhar,  and  were,  there- 
fore, of  the  senior  line  of  Ugaine  Mor. 
But  they  were  set  aside  by  Con  of  the 
Hundred  Battles,  and  afterwards  expelled 
from  Meath  by  Cormac  O'Cuinn,  his  grand- 
son, who  began  his  reign  A.  D.  254 

Ogyg.  iii.  c.  69.  They  settled  in  the  dis- 
trict now  called  from  them  Decies,  in  the 
County  Waterford,  and  in  the  barony  of 


250 

FT 

Middlethird,  County  Tipperary. — (T.) 

a  Mogh  Lamha's  race. — Mogh  Lamha 
was  the  father  of  Conaire  II.,  King  of 
Ireland,  A.  D.  212,  who  married  Saraid, 
daughter  of  Con  of  the  Hundred  Battles, 
and  was  the  father  of  the  three  Cairbres, 
from  one  of  whom,  Cairbre  Riada,  or  Riogh- 
f  hada,  the  Dal-Riada,  or  race  of  Riada, 
are  descended.  The  district  of  Dalriada, 
now  called  tiwRout,  in  the  county  Antrim, 
takes  its  name  from  the  race  that  inhabit- 
ed it.  See  Reeves's  Eccl.  Antiq.  of  Down, 
and  Connor,  and  Dromore,  note  FF.  p  3 1 8, 
el  seq.  The  genealogy  of  Mogh  Lamha  is 
thus  given  in  the  Book  of  Conquests,  p.  1 47 : 
He  was  the  son  of  Lughaidh  Alladham, 
King  of  Munster,  son  of  Coirpre  Crim- 
chuin,  son  of  Daire  Dornmhair,  son  of 
Cairpre  Fionnmhor,  King  of  Munster,  son 
of  Conaire  Mor,  King  of  Ireland — (T.) 

b  Cualgne — For  la  cup  Cualjne,  L. 
reads  la  cope  jaela.  Cuailgne  is  a 
mountainous  district  in  the  north  of  the 
county  of  Louth,  now  Cooley ;  the  ce- 
lebrated Cuchullin,  of  the  race  of  Heri- 


255 


The  Fotharts",  the  Deisi,  Mogh  Lamha's*  race, 

With  the  warrior  of  Cualgne", 
The  men  of  Dalriada,  Corco-Rinnec, 

And  Corco-Roedad. 

The  kings  of  the  race  of  Eochaidh  Doimhlen', 

The  pillars  of  his  houses, 
And  the  kings  of  Argiallf,  from  Buichne 

To  Loch  Febhail8. 


245 


250 
Fir 


mon,  was  the  champion  of  Cuailgnc,  and 
perhaps  he  is  here  particularly  alluded 
to.  Core  Gaela,  mentioned  in  the  read- 
ing of  L.,  was  king  of  the  country  now 
called  Eile,  or  Ely,  in  Ormond.  He  was 
married  to  Ele,  daughter  of  Eochaidh 
Mac  Luchta,  and  his  descendants  were 
the  Corco  Gaela.  The  three  Fotharts  were 
his  chief  representatives,  through  their 
mother  Finche — (T.) 

c  Corco-Rinne L.  reads  copco  chu- 

pano  ;  but  I  know  not  who  were  the 
Corco  Einne,  or  Corco  Churann.  There 
is  propably  some  corruption  of  the  text 
in  all  the  copies — (T.) 

d  Corco-Raeda — These  were  the  de- 
scendants of  Fiacha  Eaide,  son  of  Fiacha 
Suighdhe,  already  mentioned  as  the  an- 
cestor of  the  Deisi.  The  Corcoraidians  oc- 
cupied the  barony  of  Corcaree  in  the  coun- 
ty of  Westmeath — Ogyg.  iii.  c.  69 — (T.) 

fEochadh  DoimMen — He  was  the  son  of 
Cairbre  Liffeachar,  King  of  Ireland,  and 
father  of  Colla  Huais,  King  of  Ireland — 
Ogyg.  iii.  c.  75.  L.  omits  uili  in  line  247, 


which  is  evidently  redundant:  and  in  the 
next  line  the  same  manuscript  reads  cuip 
oia  chelaib.  He  is  called  "a  pillar  of 
his  houses,"  i.  e.  of  the  houses  or  families 
descended  from  him,  because  he  was  the 
common  ancestor  of  the  O'Kellys  of  Hy- 
Many,  Maguires,  Mac  Mahons  of  Oriel, 
O'Hanlons,  &c.— (T.) 

f  Kings  of  Argiatt. — L.  has  simply  na 
h-Qip^ialla,  the  Argialla.  They  were 
the  descendants  of  the  three  Collas,  the 
sons  of  Eochaidh  Doimhlen — Ogyg.  iii. 
c.  76.-(7T.) 

From  Buichne  to  Loch  Febhail. — L. 
reads  ocha  6uaibnich.  The  meaning  is, 
that  the  authority  of  the  Argialla  extend- 
ed over  the  district,  from  the  River 
Buichne  to  Loch  Febhail  or  Foyle.  In 
St.  Patrick's  time  the  Argialla  had  pos- 
session of  all  the  country  about  Loch 
Foyle  and  the  now  counties  of  Monaghan, 
Armagh,  a  great  part  of  Tyrone,  and  of 
the  barony  of  Slane  in  Meath.  Where 
the  Buichne  is  I  do  not  know,  but  it  ap- 
pears to  be  the  name  of  a  river. — ( T.) 


256 


255 


260 


pip  Oajial  o  5r^iri  co  Copam 

cfn  nac  nofmfpp, 
oeg  meic  TTlaine  bpfpail  piacpaig  Dalian, 

acup  Oomlen  oilfp. 

Dubne  oolup  cfmen  [potmb] 

porhuo  aipjnec, 
CtenDia  Upennia, 

Cofnnia  caippoec. 

Copppe  Gpao,  Qpat»  Cipe, 

Qpat)  Cliacac, 
Larapn  bfnncpaige  Inmanaig, 

Oal  pino  Piarac. 


Ogyg-  P-  329-  Tne  names  Aendia,  Tren- 
nia,  and  Coennia,  lines  257,  258,  are 
other  names  given  to  the  three  Fothads, 
Airgtheach,  Cairptheach,  and  Canann. — 
-(T.) 

1  Corpre  Arad. — In  the  margin  another 
reading  is  given  thus  :  no  Copppe  cliac, 
liacain,  piogemo,  pono  mbiacac  ;  and 
the  same  reading  occurs  also  in  L.,  both 
readings  being  inserted  together,  so  as  to 
give  this  stanza  the  appearance  of  contain- 
ing six  lines  : 

Caipbpi  each  C/iatan,  piogenio, 

pono  mbiacach, 
Caipppi  Qpao,  Qpao  Chipi, 

Qpao  Cliach, 
6achaipni,  6eanncpaiji  Inmanaich, 

Oal  pino  piacach. 


"  Coraid. — Fer  da  Ghiall,  i.  e.  Eochaidh 
Ferdaghiall,  the  ancestor  of  the  Hy-Many, 
in  Connaught,  whose  territory  extended 
from  Grian  to  Coraidh.  See  0' Donovan's 
Genealogies,  Tribes,  &c.,  of  Hy-Many, 
pp.  7,  10,  25,  66,  130,  134.  For  copuio, 
in  line  251,  L.  reads  copaich,  and  in 
the  next  line  cenoach  nimeap.  In  line 
253  the  words  oejj  meic  are  omitted. — 
(T.) 

'  Greyness, — The  word  pooub  is  in- 
serted from  L.,  and  is  necessary  to  com- 
plete the  metre ;  it  signifies,  literally,  half 
blacL—(T.) 

k  Fothads — The  three  Fothads  were  the 
sons  of  Lugadh  Mac  Con,  King  of  Ireland 
A.  D.  250,  according  to  O'Flaherty's  dates. 
They  were  called  Fothad  Airgtheach,  Fo- 
thad  Cairptheach,  and  Fothad  Canann. — 


257 

Fir  da  Ghiall,  who  dwell  from  Grian  to  Coradh", 

Without  contempt, 

The  good  sons  of  Maine,  Breasail,  Fiachra,  Dalian, 
And  Domhlen  the  faithful. 

Blackness,  darkness,  dimness,  greyness1, 

The  Fothads",  the  plunderers 
Aendia,  Trennia, 

Coennia  of  chariots. 

Corpre  Arad1,  Arad  Tire, 

Arad  Cliathach, 
Latharnm,  Benntraighe,  lonmanaich, 

Dal  Finn  Fiatach". 


255 


260 


The 


Cairbri,  Cach  [read  CHach],  Liathan,  Fidhgenidh, 

Of  the  fertile  soil, 
Cairpri,  Arad,  Arad  Thiri, 

Arad  Cliacli, 
Lathairn,  Beanntraighe  the  beloved, 

Dal  Finn  Fiatach. 

Cairpri  Arad,  Arad  Thire,  and  Arad 
Cliach  or  Cliathach,  are  the  tribes  set- 
tled in  Duharra,  and  the  adjacent  terri- 
ritory  in  Tipperary. — See  O'Donovan's 
Book  of  Rights,  published  by  the  Celtic 
Society,  p.  46,  n.— (T.) 

m  Latham. — The  district  of  Lame,  Co. 
Antrim,  in  the  ancient  territory  of  Dala- 
radia,  which  derives  its  name  from  Lathair, 
one  of  the  sons  of  Ugaine  Mor.  The  Benn- 
traighe are  the  descendants  of  Beann,  son 
of  Connor  Mac  Nessa,  according  to  some 
accounts  ;  or  of  Congancnis,  of  the  Er- 

IBISH  ABCH.  SOC.  1 6  2 


neans  of  Munster,  according  to  others. 
See  M'Firbis,  pp.  381,  503.  They  were 
settled  at  Bantry  Bay  in  the  county  Cork, 
and  also  at  Bantry,  on  the  borders  of  the 
counties  of  Wicklow  and  Wexford.  The 
lonmanaich  were  descended  from  Colla 

Meann  in  Mughdhorne Book  of  Leacan, 

fol.  88,  6,6 (T.) 

n  Dal  Finn  Fiatach. — The  descendants 
of  Fiatach  Finn,  who,  according  toTigher- 
nach,  began  to  reign  in  Emania,  as  King 
of  Uladh  or  Ulidia,  in  the  year  A.D.  108, 
and  in  116,  according  to  O'Flaherty's 
Chronology,  became  king  of  Ireland — 
Ogyg.  p.  142,  and  p.  301.  He  was  of  the 
race  of  Herimon,  of  the  family  of  the 
Ernai,  or  descendants  of  Oilioll  Aroun, 
who  settled  in  Ulster. — Ogyg.  p.  266. — 
(T.) 
L 


258 


poola  Copppe  pceo 

ba  roipm  cfpech, 
pluaj;  bale  buaoac,  munnp  hfpimom, 

mic  TTlileD. 

TTlaiccne  Gbip  Gojjanacca, 

uili  apoaic, 

Gni,  loc  Lein,  Capel,  ^lenoamain, 
n-Qpgaic. 


265 


270 


Gocu  l?airlinne  cfn 

cam  culao, 
Goganacc  cec  ou  i  ccic, 

la  bpigu  TTluman. 

TTlafe  Odl  Chaipp  Oal  Cein  cecaig, 
co 


275 
Dal 


"  Corpraiyhe — Over  the  word  Copppe 
in  the  text,  tlie  MS.  has  the  correction 
no  Copppuijje  in  a  later  hand  ;  and  over 
Cparpa^e,  the  correction  no  tJapcpotje, 
which  have  been  adopted  in  the  trans- 
lation. L.  reads  poolci  Copbpuioi  pceo 
Oapcpaioi,  and  in  the  next  line  copno 
Dipeoch.  The  Corpraighe  are  the  de- 
scendants of  Carbre  LifFeachar,  son  of 
Cormac  Mac  Art,  King  of  Ireland,  A.  D. 

279 Ogyg.  p.  341.  The  Dartraighe  were 

a  tribe  situated  near  Loch  Gill,  in  the 
barony  of  Carbery,  Co.  Sligo,  descended 
from  Lugad  Cal,  of  the  family  of  Ith. 

Ogyg.  p.  3*9— (*".) 

p  In  every  place:   i.  e.   in   every  place 


where  the  Eoghanachts  are  to  be  found, 
of  which  the  poet  proceeds  to  enumerate 
the  principal.  The  Eoghanachts  were  the 
descendants  of  Eoghan,  son  (if  Oilioll 
Olum, KingofMunster,  A. 0.237 — Ogyg. 
p.  326.  There  were  various  septs  of  them 
in  the  south  of  Ireland,  as  the  Eoghan- 
acht  Ani.  or  O'Ciermeics,  at  Ani,  now 
Knockany,  in  the  Co.Limerick ;  the  Eogh- 
anacht  Locha  Lein,  or  O'Donohues,  at 
Loch  Lein,  now  the  Lake  of  Killarney, 
barony  of  Magunnihy,  Co.  Kerry;  the 
Eoghanacht  Caisil,  or  Mac  Carthys,  of 
Cashel ;  the  Eoghanacht  Euis-airgid,  near 
the  river  Nore  in  Ossory;  Eoghanacht 
Rathlenn,  or  O'Mahonys,  in  the  barony 


259 


The  families  of  Corpraighe0  and  of  Dartruighe, 

Fertile  is  their  territory, 
A  mighty  host,  victorious,  the  race  of  Herimon, 

Son  of  Miledh. 

The  descendants  of  Eber  are  the  Eoghanachts 

In  every  placep, 
At  Ani,  Loch  Lein,  Caisel,  Glendamain, 

And  Ros-argaid. 

Eochaidh  of  Raithlinneq,  without  oppression, 

Magnificent  their  apparel, 
The  Eoghanachts  wherever  they  are  found 

In  the  lands  of  Mumhanr. 

The  nobles  of  Dal  Caiss,  Dal  Cein  the  numerous, 
Of  illustrious  valour, 


265 


270 


275 
Dal 


of  Kinelmbeaky,  Co.  Cork ;  the  Eoghan- 
achts of  Glendamnach,  or  O'Keeffe's  coun- 
try, in  the  Co.  Cork;  the  Eoghanachts 
of  the  island  of  Arann,  in  the  bay  of  Gal- 
way ;  and  other  branches  which  settled  in 
Scotland. — Ogyg.  p.  328.  The  MS.  reads 
cloenoabcnp  in  line  269,  for  which  the 
reading  of  L.  has  been  adopted  in  the 
text,  as  being  more  correct — (T.) 

q  Eochaidh  of  Kaithlinne  :  i.  e.  the  Eog- 
hanachts of  Rathlenn,  or  O'Mahonys.  See 
last  note. — (T.) 

r  Mumhan:  i.  e.  in  the  lands,  or  farms 
(bpiju),  i.  e.  settlements  of  Munster.  In 
line  271  L.  reads  6ochu  Roichlmo  apu 
cen  oponja;  and  in  line  273,  each  rhip 

2 


icaic (T.) 

s  Dal  Cats. — The  posterity  of  Cais,  son 
of  Conall  Eachluadh,  King  of  Munster,  in 
the  fourth  century — Ogyg.  p.  386.  The 
title  of  Dal  Cais  was  given  to  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Thomond,  including  the  great 
families  of  O'Brien,  Mac  Namara,  Mac 
Mahon,  O'Curry,  &c.  The  Dal  Cein  or 
Ciariachts,  are  the  posterity  of  Cian,  son 
of  Oilioll  Olum  (Ogyg.  p.  328),  including 
the  families  now  known  by  the  sirnames 
of  O'Carroll  (of  Ely),  O'Meaghcr  (of  Iker- 
rin,  Tipperary),  O'Conor  (of  Glengiven, 
Co.  Londonderry),  O'llara  and  O'Gara, 
in  the  diocese  of  Achonry,  Mac  Cormac 
of  Bregia,  &c.  For  oal  cein  L.  reads  cen- 

La 


260 


Dal  TTloja,  Oal  Cuipc,  Oal  Ceaca, 
Oelbna. 


cech  Du  icar, 
(,115111  im  Dualaic, 
Lugaio  Cage,  Cujuipne, 
acuy1  TTlojo  Nuaoair. 

Nuall  clainne  Lugoac  mic  Ira, 
Oil  cono  pubpaj, 


280 


Gpne 


each,  and  in  line  277  oal  mancha,  oal 
cuipc,  oal  cfca  cianachca. — (71.) 

'  Dal  Mogha — The  race  of  Mogh  Nuad- 
hat,  or  Eogan  More,  father  of  Oilioll  Olum. 
Tlie  Dal  Ccata  are  unknown,  but  the  Dal 
Core  are  probably  the  descendants  of  Core 
mac  Lughach,  Prince  of  Minister,  the 
reputed  ancestor  of  the  Stewards  of  Scot- 
land ;  of  the  Eoganacht  of  Loch  Lein  ; 
and  of  the  Cuircne,  in  Westraeath — 
Mac  Firbis,  p.  165. — (T.) 

u  Galerif/fi. — The  Galengs  were  a  branch 
of  the  Dal  Coin  (Ogyg.  p.  328),  compris- 
ing the  O'Haras,  O'Garas,  O'Cathesis, 
and  O'Hcnessys,  in  Connaught  and  Meath. 
They  were  descended  from  Corinac  Galen- 
gach,  great-grandson  of  Oilioll  Olum,  King 
of  Munster.  The  MS.  reads  in  line  278 
Ruling  Delnai,  but  the  reading  of  L.  has 
been  substituted  as  more  correct.  The 
Delbhna  were  a  branch  of  the  Dal-Cais, 
descended  from  Lugadh  Dealbhaodh,  son 
of  Cas.  To  this  tribe  belong  the  families 
of  Coghlan  of  Garry  castle,  King's  County; 


Mac  Conry  (anglicized  King)  of  Conne- 
mara  ;  O'Finnellan  of  Delvin,  in  West- 
meath,  &c.  From  the  different  branches 
of  this  tribe  seven  different  districts  or 

baronies  take  the  name  of  Delvin Ogyg. 

p.  327— (T.) 

x  Tratraiyhe L.  reads  t)aprpoioi.  The 

Tratraighe  were  seated  in  the  rural  dean- 
ery of  Tradry,  in  the  barony  of  Bunratty, 
Co.  Clare.  They  were  of  the  Firbolg,  but 
the  territory  became  the  inheritance  of 
Lugaidh  Dealbaith,  who  was  driven  out 
of  it  by  the  intrigues  of  his  daughter, 
and  forced  to  lly  into  Meath.  It  is  also 
stated  that  Trad  was  the  name  of  his 
daughter's  husband,  and  hence  Trad- 
raiij/ie. — M 'Firbis,  pp.  59,  654 (T.) 

•  The  Luiylmi. — These  were  a  branch  of 
the   Gailenga   (Ogyg.  p.  328),   and  gave 
their    name    to    the  barony  of  Luighne 
(Leyny),   in    the  Co.   Sligo,  and   to  the 
barony  of  Luighne   (Lune),   in    the  Co. 
Meath.— (T.) 

*  LugaidLage — The  brother  of  Oilioll 


Dal  Mogha1,  Dal  Core,  Dal  Ceata, 
The  Galengs",  the  Delbhna. 

The  Tratraighe*  wherever  they  are  found, 
The  Luighniy  are  of  the  same  race, 

Lugaid-Lagez,  Liguirne, 
And  Mogh-Nuadhaita. 

The  fame  of  the  race  of  Lugaidh  son  of  Ith>>, 
As  a  great  straight  rotting  wavec, 


280 


The 


Olum,  who  slew  Art,  monarch  of  Ireland, 
after  the  battle  of  Magh  Mucroimhe,  near 
Athenry,  Co.  Galway.  A.  D.  270.  Ligh- 
urn,  the  grandson  of  Eochy  Finn  Fothart, 
was  the  companion  of  Lugaid  Lage  in  the 
battle,  and  joined  him  in  the  slaughter  of 
King  Art — Ogyg.  p.  328. 

"  Mogh  Nuadhat The  father  of  Oilioll 

Olum,  and  head  of  all  the  race  of  Heber. 
He  compelled  Con  of  the  Hundred  Battles 
to  divide  Ireland  with  him,  from  which 
the  southern  half  of  Ireland  was  called 
Loath  Mogha,  or  Mogha's  half. — Ogyg. 

p.  315— (T.) 

b  Lugaid  son  oflth. — Our  author  having 
mentioned  the  principal  septs  descended 
from  Herimon  and  Ileber,  the  sons  of 
Milesius,  now  .proceeds  to  celebrate  the 
race  of  Lugaid,  son  of  Ith,  who  was  the 
leader  and  instigator  of  the  Milesian  in- 
vasion. His  posterity  were  settled  in  the 
diocese  of  Ross,  south-west  of  the  county 
Cork ;  but  the  principal  family  of  the  race 
now  extant  is  that  known  by  the  name  of 


O'Hedersceol  or  O'Driscoll.  O'Flaherty 
says  that  the  family  of  Mac  Cathlin,  now 
Campbell,  of  Argyle,  in  Scotland,  is  of 
this  race,  being  descended  from  Fothadh 
Conann,  son  of  Lughadh  Mac  Con,  King 
of  Ireland. — Ogyg.  pp.  329,  330.  There 
is  a  curious  historical  tract  on  the  history 
of  the  race  of  Lughaidh  Mac  Ith,  in  the 
Book  of  Leacan,  fol.  122,  which  is  well 
worthy  of  publication,  for  the  valuable 
light  it  throws  on  the  topography  and 
history  of  a  part  of  Ireland  hitherto  very 
little  known.  The  word  nuall,  line  283, 
has  been  translated  fame  ;  it  signifies  lite- 
rally a  shout,  and  metaphorically  may  be 
taken  to  denote  fame  or  celebrity.  In  the 
Feilire  Aenguis  (i  Feb.),  St.  Bridget  is 
called  ftpigio  ban  bulcc  nuullun,  "  Brid- 
get, a  woman  of  great  shouting ;"  and  the 
gloss  says:  .1.  nuull  ann,  no  nuall  un,  no 
uupul,  no  nuall  an  .1.  ip  mop,  -]  ip  an 
nuall  caich  ocumchio  icje  pop  &PIJIC. 
No  ip  mop  nuall  celebapchu  oc  &PIJIC, 
ic;  i.e.  "nuall  ann,  a  shout  there  ;  or 


262 


Gpne  Gpbpcuge  TTlur'ca  bapcan, 
ineic  Cugoach. 


285 


Opcre  Lu^cno  J5a^a> 
Ofp^a  Ofn  aible, 
pi  Ouin  Chfpmna  beppe, 


tugaii) 


Lcm  in  liGpin  t>o  clamo  Ip, 

rriic  TTHleo, 
TTliDip  Puopaije  pf  pacrna  parac, 

cona  ciniuo  baioe. 

Ciap  a  ceirhfpn  Gemmae  cona 
maine  inuach, 


290 


295 


nuall  an,  a  noble  [shout]  ;  or  nuall  an, 
i.  e.  great  and  noble  is  the  sliout  of  the  peo- 
ple asking  requests  of  Bridget ;  or  great  is 
the  shout  of  celebration  with  Bridget" 
[i.  e.  celebration  of  her  festival],  &c. — 
(T.) 

c  Wave L.  reads  oiU  cuino  cupaio; 

puopaj  means  straight,  direct. — (T.) 

d  Bascan.  —  The  Ernai,  Arbhraighe, 
[Orbhraigh  or  Orrery,  Co.  Cork],  Mus- 
ca  (Muscraighe),  and  Bascan,  are  tribes 
of  the  race  of  Herimon,  according  to  the 
common  account.  But  the  Book  of  Lecan 
states  that  by  some  they  are  deduced  from 
Ir,  son  of  Ith,  fol.  112,  &.  L.  reads  in 
the  next  line  na  cpi  lujaio.  At  line  286 
the  copy  in  the  book  of  Leacan  ends,  but 
a  column  was  left  blank  for  the  continua- 
tion, which  is  now  filled  with  other  matter 


copcu 

in  a  later  hand — (  T.) 

e  Lugaidh  Oircthe.  —  Lughaid  Oircthe, 
from  whom  descended  the  Corco  Oircthe ; 
Lughaid  Cal,  from  whom  the  inhabitants 
of  the  district  of  Calry,  of  Loch  Gill,  ba- 
rony of  Carbery,  Co.  Sligo  ;  and  Lugaidh 
Laighde,  the  grandfather  of  Lughaid  Mac 
Con,  King  of  Ireland  (from  whom  came 
the  Corco  Laighde,  in  the  west  of  the  Co. 
Cork),  were  all  sons  of  Daire,  of  the  race 
of  Ith — Ogyg.  p.  329 — (T.) 
'  Derga. — Not  known — (T.) 
8  Oen-Ailildc. — Unknown — (T.) 

h  Dun-Kermna A  fortress  at  the  foot 

of  the  Old  Plead  of  Kinsale,  called  in  the 
1 7th  century,  Dun  Patrick,  from  one  of 
the  Do  Courcys,  to  whom  the  district  be- 
longed— Ogyg.  p.  205  ;  Keating,  in  the 
reign  of  Cearmna.  It  had  its  old  name 


263 


The  Ernai,  Arbhraighe,  Musca,  Bascand, 
Are  the  sons  of  Lugaidh. 

Lughaid-Orcthee,  Lughaid  Gala, 

Derga',  Oen-aibhleB 
The  King  of  Dun-Kermnah,  Berre', 

Lughaid  Laighde. 

Eri  is  full  of  the  race  of  Ir, 

Son  of  Milcdh, 
Midirk,  Rudhraighe,  King  Fachtna  Fathach, 

With  their  warlike  kinsmen. 

Ciar  with  his  foot-soldiers',  Conmac  with  his  .... 
Of  great  wealth, 


285 


290 


295 
The 


of  Dun  Kermna,  from  Cearmna,  king  of 
the  southern  half  of  Ireland,  who  began 
to  reign  conjointly  with  Sobhairce,  both 
of  the  race  of  Ir,  in  the  year  A.  M.  3045, 
according  to  O'Flaherty.  Our  author 
differs  from  the  best  authorities,  if  we  are 
to  understand  him  as  deducing  these  fami- 
lies from  Lughad,  son  of  Ith.  For  the 
Ernai  of  middle  Munster  were  descended 
from  Cathaoir,  son  of  Edirscol,  King  of 
Ireland  ;  and  the  Ernai  of  Dun-Kermna, 
in  South  Munster,  from  Duibhne,  son  of 
the  same  Cathaoir,  from  whom  their  pos- 
terity were  called  Corco-Duibhni.  They 
were,  therefore,  of  the  race  of  Herimon. 
-Ogyg.p.  271.- (T.) 

1  Berre. — Now  Bearhaven,  Co.  Cork. — 
(T.) 

k  Midir. — There  is  probably  some  mis- 


take of  transcription  in  this  name,  for  it 
does  not  occur  in  the  genealogies  of  the 
race  of  Ir.  Eudhraighe,  ancestor  of  the 
Clanna  Kudraighe,  of  the  race  of  Ir,  was 
King  of  Ireland,  according  to  O'Flaherty, 
A.M.  3845  (Ogyg.  p.  265);  and  Fachtna 
Fathach,  or  the  Provident,  son  of  Cas, 
and  grandson  of  Rudhraighe,  succeeded  to 
the  throne,  A.M.,  3899  (ib.  p.  266). — 
(T.) 

'  Foot-soldiers,  or  kernes. — For  Ciup  a 
ceichepn,  we  should  probably  read  Clap 
cona  ceichepn.  The  last  word  of  this 
line  ought,  perhaps,  to  be  cope,  for  Ciar, 
Core,  and  Conmac,  were  the  illegitimate 
sons  of  Fergus  Mac  Roigh,  ex-King  of 
Ulster,  of  the  race  of  Ir,  by  Meadhbh, 
Queen  of  Connaught(Ogyg.  iii.  c.  46).  Ciar 
was  ancestor  of  all  the  tribes  called  Ciar- 


264 


Copcu  Oallcm,  Copcu  Goluim 
Copcompuao. 


Oal  rhbuain  Conpino  comil 

pfpb  ngoppa 
TTlojj  17oirh  pfppa  cmiuo  pepjupa 

inic  l?oppa. 

Rfge  o  paccnu  Odl  nQpaioe 

epcOa  tK>5aip 
pecc  Laijpe  Lajfn  co  pebail, 

na  pfcc  Sogain, 


300 


raighe,  in  Connavight,  viz.,  Ciarraighe  Lu- 
achra  (comprising  the  greater  part  of  the1 
present  county  of  Kerry),  the  patrimony 
of  O'Conor  Kerry  ;  Ciarriaghe  Ai,  now 
Claim  Kethern  in  Roscommon;  and  Ciar- 
raighe Locha  n-Airneadh,  in  the  county 
Mayo,  comprising  that  portion  of  the  ba- 
rony of  Costello  belonging  to  the  diocese 
ofTuam.  See  O'Donovan's  Ily  Fiachrach, 
p.  484,  and  map.  Conmac  was  the  an- 
cestor of  the  people  called  Conmaiene.  as 
the  Conmaicne  ol'Moyrein,  in  the  coun- 
ties of  Longford  and  Leitrim,  of  whom  the 
O'Farrells  and  Mac  Rannalls  are  the  prin- 
cipal remaining  families ;  the  Conmaicne  of 
Kinel  Dubhan,  or  Dunmore,  Co.  Galway ; 
Conmacne  Mara,  now  Connemara  ;  and 
Conmaicne  Tola,  barony  of  Kilmaine,  Co. 
Mayo. — O' Flaherty's  West  Connaught, 
pp.  92-94.  The  third  son,  Core,  was  the 
ancestor  of  the  Corco-modhruadh,  or  Cor- 
cumruaidh,  mentioned  line  298,  in  the 
barony  of  Corcomroe,  which  was  origi- 


3°5 
Sil 

nally  co-extensive  with  the  diocese  of  Kil- 
fenora,  Co.  Clare.  The  O'Loghlins  of  Bur- 
ren,  and  the  O'Conor  Corcomroe,  are  the 
principal  families  of  this  race  now  remain- 
ing.—Ugyg.  pp.  275,  276.— (T.) 

n  Corca  Dalian The  posterity  of  Dal- 
ian, son  of  Fergus  Mac  Koigh,  ex-King 
of  Ulster.  The  Corca-Eoluiin,  or  Corca- 
Auluiin,  were  the  descendants  ol'Aulam, 
or  Corb-Aulam,  twin  brother  of  Conri, 
son  of  Fergus  Mac  Roigh. — Ogyg.  p.  274. 
-(T.) 

0  Dal  m-Buain,  or  Dal  m-Buinne,  were 
the  descendants  of  Buain,  son  of  Fergus 
Mac  Koigh.  Their  territory  comprised 
the  barony  of  Upper  Massareene,  Co.  An- 
trim, with  the  parishes  of  Kilwarlin  and 
Drumbo.  Iteeves's  Eccl.  Antiq.  p.  233, 
note  ',  p.  364.  Ogyg.  274.  Dal  Confinn 
were  the  descendants  of  Aongus  Finn,  son 
of  Fergus  mac  Roigh ;  they  were  the  inha- 
bitants of  Coolavin,  in  the  county  of  Sligo. 
Ogyg.  p.  275.-(r.) 


The  Corca-Dallanm,  the  Corca-Eoluim, 
The  Corcumruaidh. 

Dal  mBuain",  Confmn,  of  powerful  deeds, 

Of  fierce  valour,  300 

Mogh  Roith0,  the  protector,  are  all  of  the  race  of  Fergus, 

The  son  of  Ross. 

The  kings  of  the  race  of  Fachtna",  the  Dal  n- Araidhe, 

Warlike,  fierce, 
The  seven  Laigseq  of  Leinster  the  wealthy,  305 


The  seven  Soghansr. 


0  Mogh  Roith. — A  celebrated  Druid  of 
the  race  of  the  Ciarraighe.  His  poste- 
rity obtained  the  territory  of  Fermoy, 
Co.  Cork ;  from  him  were  descended  the 
families  of  O'Dubhagain  or  O'Duggan,  and 
O'Coscraigh ;  also  the  saints  Mochuille 
and  Molagga,  and  Cuanna  MacCailchinne, 
chief  of  Fermoy,  celebrated  for  his  hospita- 
lity, who  flourished  in  the  seventh  century. 
See  Keating,  in  the  reign  of  Conall  Caol 
and  Cellach;  Colgan,  in  Vit.  S.  Molaggas, 
ad  20  Jan.  All  the  foregoing  tribes  and 
personages  (mentioned  lines  295  to  301) 
are  here  said  to  be  of  the  race  of  Fergus 
Mac  Roigh  [so  called  from  his  mother's 
name],  who  was  the  son  of  Ross  Ruadh, 
son  of  Rudhruighe,  King  of  Ireland,  A.M. 
3845. — Ogyg.  p.  265.  Mogh  Roith  is  called 
protector  from  his  having,  by  his  magic,  as- 
sisted the  Munster  men  to  defeat  Cormac 
Mac  Art,  at  the  battle  of  Damhdhaire,  in 
the  second  century.  Dudley  Mac  Firbis 
translates  the  name  of  Mogh  Roth,  Magus 

IRISH  ARCH.  SOC.   1 6.  2 


The 

liotcc,  and  says  that  he  assisted  Simon 
Magus,  to  make  the  Roth-ramhach,  a 
magical  wheel,  by  means  of  which  Simon 
was  enabled  to  ascend  into  the  air,  and 
which  is  to  overwhelm  all  Europe  in  some 
fatal  calamity  before  the  day  of  judgment. 
See  this  strange  legend  in  D.  Mac  Firbis, 
p.  535  (MS.  in  the  Library  of  the  Royal 
Irish  Academy),  and  Book  of  Leacan,  fol. 
133— (T.) 

P  Fachtna:  i.  e.  the  race  of  Fachtna  Fath- 
ach,  King  of  Ireland.  The  Dal-Aradians 
were  of  the  race  of  Fiacha  Araidhe,  of  the 
family  of  Rudhruighe,  and  race  of  Ir,  King 
of  Ulster,  A.D.  236. — Tighernach,  Annal. 
in  an. ;  Ogyg.  iii.  c.  66 ;  Reeves's  Ecclesias- 
tical Antiq.,  Appendix  GG.,  p.  334. — (T.) 

11  Laiglise,  or  Leix Districts  inhabited 

by  the  descendants  of  Laoighseach  Ceann- 
mhor,  son  of  Conall  Cearnach,  of  the  race 
of  Ir.  See  Addit.  Notes,  p.  Ixxiii,  note  s. 
-(T.) 

'  Soghans.  —  The  posterity  of  Sodhan 
M 


266 


Sil  Concnll  5^aiTT  mic 

ba  epcocno  ogjia 
Oo  TTlaig  porhaio  DO  TTlai5 

DO  TTiai5 


310 


Oo  TTlnij  Sulioe  DO 

Do  TTlaig  TTlace 
o'lnbiup  buappe  bpucrcnc  ppoca 

Do  me  Qice. 

Goco  TTlaipeoa  in  maicpe  miaD 

nojiDD  ningnaD 
Diam  bojib  a  Cmomuine  laenDjiec 

uap  loc 


mic 


3'5 


Laecjiao  pil  T 
bdij;  cfn  gainne 

Salbhuidhe,  son  of  Fiacha  Araidhe.  Six  of 
the  seven  districts  inhabited  by  them 
were  in  Hy  Many,  and  one  in  Meath.  See 
O'Donovan's  Hy  Many,  pp.  72,  159,  188. 
-(T.) 

s  Conal  Glas. — This  was  Couall  Anglon- 
nach,  son  of  Feich,  and  founder  of  the 
families  of  Conaille  Muirthemhne,  county 
Louth.  Magh  Uisnich  was  the  plain  round 
the  hill  of  Uisnech,  in  the  Co.  Westmeath. 
The  other  plains  here  mentioned  are  un- 
known.— (2'.) 

'  Magh  Sulidhe — The  plain  about  the 
river  Swilly,  in  the  Co.  Donegal. — (T.) 

u  Fernmaigh:\.  e.  the  Alder- tree  Plain, 
now  Farney,  a  barony  in  the  county  of 


320 

Cope 

Monaghan,  of  which  a  valuable  historical 
and  topographical  memoir  has  recently 
been  published  by  Evelyn  Philip  Shirley, 
Esq.  Mayli  Macho,  mentioned  in  the  next 
line,  is  the  plain  round  Armagh;  it  is 
generally  called  by  the  Four  Masters 
Machaire  Arda  Macho,  or  the  plain  of 
Armagh (T.) 

x  Inhlier  Buais — The  mouth  of  the  river 
Buais,  now  Bush,  near  the  present  town 
of  Bushmills,  in  the  north  of  Dalriada, 
Co.  Antrim.  See  Keeves's  Eccl.  Antiq. 
of  Down  and  Connor.  What  is  meant 
by  lath  Aiche,  or  the  land  of  Aiche,  in 
the  next  line,  I  do  not  know. — (T.) 

y  Eocho  Mairedha — He  was  drowned 


267 

The  race  of  Conall  Glass,  son  of  Ech, 
Spread  themselves  listlessly 

To  Magh  Fothaid,  to  Magh  Uisnigh, 
To  Magh  Moghna, 

To  Magh  Sulidhe',  to  Fernmaigh", 

To  Magh  Macha, 
To  Inbher  Buaisx,  of  bursting  torrents, 

To  the  land  of  Aiche. 


310 


Eocho  Mairedhay,  the  rebellious  son, 

Of  wonderful  adventure, 
Who  was  overwhelmed  in  lucid  Linnmhuine, 

With  the  clear  lake  over  him. 

The  heroes  of  the  race  of  Righbard,  son  of  Brige2, 
( )f  valour  undaunted, 


about  A.  D.  90,  by  the  eruption  of  the 
lake,  now  called  from  his  name,  Loch 
n-Eochadh,  or  Loch  Neagh,  which  over- 
spread the  plain  before  called  Liathmhuine. 
The  ancient  name  of  Lough  Neagh  was 
Linnmhuine.  He  is  called  "  the  rebel- 
lious son"  because  he  eloped  with  his 
step-mother.  There  is  some  confusion  in 
lines  317  and  318;  perhaps  we  should  read, 

oia  mbopb  u  linomume  linojlan, 
uar-  liacmume  laomopec. 

Who  was  overwhelmed  in  clear  Linnmhuine, 
Above  the  wide  Liathmhuine. 

N.  is  all  confusion,  reading  the  stanza 
thus: 


320 
Core 

ta  muipe  oa  in  muirpe  miao 
nopo  ninjnao 

t)ia  m-bopb  a  linn  mume  (^ennpec, 
uap  loc  linnglann. 

For  the  legend  of  the  eruption  of 
Loch  Neagh,  see  the  Dinnseanchus,  and 
the  Leabhar  n-Uidhri,  fol.  36.— (T.) 

1  Riglibard,  son  of  Brige. — Who  this 
was  I  do  not  know.  The  Corc-Oiche  were 
the  descendants  of  Dubhthach  Daelten- 
gaidh  (i.  e.  of  the  black  tongue),  and  are 
said  to  have  occupied  the  land  now  co- 
vered by  Lough  Neagh,  until  they  were 
dispossessed  and  dispersed  into  Meath, 
Munster,  &c.,  by  Eochaidh  Mac  Mairedha, 
a  Munster  chieftain,  in  the  first  century, 
2  M  2 


268 


Cope  oice  doe  cloc  cfn  cimine 
Dal  yaep  pelle. 


Se  cinfba  nac  r>o  muncip 
ciappa  itiagfn, 

Succa,  Ui 
Lajfn. 


325 


Leip  fo  rhmpmip  fmap  ap  cponic 

cia  no  hglfo  ? 
Inci  meoon  acup  roppach 

acup  oeao. 

Dfpb  Ifam  cipe  pooop  pime 
o  po  gabao  hGpiu 


33° 


cona 


who  was  contemporary  with  the  eruption 
of  the  lake.  — Book  of  Leacan,  fol.  1 34 ; 
Ogyg.  p.  329.  The  Dal  Selle,  mentioned 
line  322,  were  descended  from  Eochuidh, 
who  gave  his  name  to  Loch  Neagh. — (T.) 
*  Si.i-  tribes. — The  MSS.  read  Seomuic 
mouic  DO  mumciri  6pc^om;  and  in  line 
325,  ^abpaije  piccu  [N.  pioju].  The 
readings  adopted  are  taken  from  a  quota- 
tion of  this  stanza  which  occurs  in  a  short 
account  of  the  death  of  Finn  M'Cumhal, 
contained  in  a  miscellaneous  MS.  volume 
of  the  ijth  century,  in  the  possession  of 
Henry  J.  Monck  Mason,  Esq.,  LL.D.  The 
volume  is  lettered  on  the  back,  "  Amradh 
Coluim-Cille  sceo  scribenn  aile."  [Poem 
on  Columbkille  and  other  writings].  The 
whole  passage,  for  which  I  am  indebted  to 
Mr.  E.  Curry,  is  as  follows:  Clobepaio 


apaile,  -\  ip  pip  pin,  comub  DO  ib  caipp- 
pi^  hua  pailgi  DO,  -]  550  ma6  DO  aicec- 
ruuchcnb  luDpiDe.  Qmcul  ucbepc  ITlael- 
nuipn  ipm  cponic 

Se  cinfoa  nac  DO  mumcip 
Tebup  TnuijjiM 

8liucca,  hui 


"  Others  say,  and  it  is  true,  that  he 
[Finn]  was  of  the  Ui  Tairrsigh  of  Ui 
Failghe,  and  that  they  were  of  the  Aith- 
echtuath  [or  insurgent  plebeians],  as 
Maehnura  says  in  the  Chronicle,  Six 
Tribes,"  &e. 

This  passage  is  worthy  of  insertion 
here,  not  only  as  preserving  the  true 
reading  of  the  stanza  before  us,  but  also 
because  we  learn  from  it  incidentally 


269 


Corc-Oiche,  humblers  of  the  proud,  without  fear, 
The  noble  Dal  Selle. 

Six  tribesa  who  are  not  of  Breoghan's  people. 

Who  hold  lands: 
The  Gabraighe  Succa,  Ui  Tairsigh, 

Galeous  of  Leinster. 

Fully  have  we  made  our  Chronicle, 

Who  will  criticise  it  ? 
It  has  its  middle,  and  its  beginning, 

And  its  end. 

It  is  certain  to  me  that  whatsoever  I  have  related, 
Since  thejirst  invasion  of  Eri, 


325 


33° 


There 


that  the  present  poem  was  known  by  the 
name  of  The  Chronicle  ofMaelmura:  comp. 
line  327.  It  would  seem,  however,  that, 
instead  of  Se,  we  should  read  cpi  cmfoa, 
"three  tribes,"  &c.,  in  line  323;  for  three 
only  are  mentioned,  and  Keating  speaks 
of  three  only,  enumerating  the  very  same 
three  that  are  here  given,  all  of  whom  he 
says  were  of  the  race  of  the  Firbolgs.  Q 
oeipio  bponj  pe  Seuncup  jupab  oioB  na 
cpi  h-aicrheaoa  po  pil  a  n-6ipmn,  nuc  DO 
jjaomiolaib  .1.  ^abpuine  Sliucu  a  5- 
Connaccaib,  Ui  Caippij;  a  jcpic  o 
bpailj;e,  -\  ^alium  fxii^ion.  "Some  an- 
tiquaries say  that  it  is  of  them  [viz.  of 
the  Firbolgs]  are  descended  the  three  fa- 
milies that  are  in  Ireland  who  are  not  of 
the  Gadelians,  viz.,  the  Gabraidhc  of  [the 
river]  Suck  in  Conacht,  the  Ui  Tairsigh, 


in  the  country  of  Offaly,  and  the  Galleons 
of  Leinster." — Quoted  from  Dudley  Mac 
Firbis'sMS.  Comp.  Haliclay's  ed.  p.  195; 
O'Flaherty,  Ogyg.  p.  175;  O'Donovan'.s 
Ily-Many,  pp.  85,  86,  90.  The  hint 
thrown  out  in  the  passage  quoted  from 
Mr.  Mason's  MS.,  that  the  three  non-Ga- 
delian  families  were  of  the  Athachtuaidh, 
and  therefore  joined  with  the  insurgents 
who  murdered  the  nobles  of  the  Gadclian 
race,  and  set  up  a  new  line  of  popularly 
elected  kings,  is  curious.  See  Ogyg.  iii. 
c.  54,  and  Keating,  at  the  reign  of  Tuathal 
Teachtmar.  Breoghan  being  the  common 
ancestor  of  all  the  Gadelian  leaders,  to 
say  that  the  tribes  enumerated  were  not 
of  the  race  of  Breoghan  is  eqiiivalent  to 
saying  that  they  were  not  Gadelian. 
-(T.) 


270 


cona  pcngbe  nf  ba  pfjiiu 
na  bap  Ifpiu. 

Leop  leno  lenmaic  a  panoip  ipp 

po  pfp  culao 
muncip  bhpfgom  peib  arbfpap 

can  a  mbunat).     C. 


335 


IV. 


[t>uaN 

Dal  Riaoa,  umoppo,  oap  labpamap  50  leg  op  mo  nac  ppuil 
amopup  againn  ipin  m-beajan  oa  m-bunanup,  ~|  cpaobpjaoileao 
Da  larhpam  pan  leabappa.  Cuipeam  pean  tmain  Seancapa  a  pfo£ 
ap  Qlbain  annpo  piop. 

]Tla|ipo  aoep  je  eapbabac  f  mp  pi'om  na  pio£  na  pann  Depe- 
anar,  ~|  pop  mp  pleccaib  ele: 


''  Their  origin. — -Mr.  Curry  lias  suggest- 
ed that  the  first  line  of  this  poem  oujrht 

1  O 

to  be  written  Cun  a  mbunaoap  na  njjue- 
oil,  "  Whence  their  origin  [viz.  the  ori- 
gin] of  the  Gadelians?"  which  would 
make  a  good  sense,  and  would  coineide 
with  the  last  line,  as  is  usual  in  bardic 
compositions  of  this  nature;  and  although 
there  is  a  seeming  grammatical  irregiila- 
rity  in  repeating  the  possessive  pronoun 
along  with  the  noun  to  which  it  refers, 
yet  instances  are  not  uncommon  in  Irish 
of  this  sort  of  redundancy.  In  the  last  line 
of  the  poem  it  is  quite  impossible  to  take 
cunum  as  a  verb,  for  it  would  be  the  fu- 


Q  eolcha 

ture  tense,  and  would  make  no  sense.  But 
O'Flaherty,  Lynch,  Keating,  and  others, 
the  best  scholars  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, have  taken  it  as  a  verb  in  the  first 
line.  Still  II r.  Curry's  conjecture  is  very 
ingenious,  and  may  probably  be  true. — 
(T.) 

0  Duan  Albanuch. — The  author  of  the 
following  poem  is  unknown,  but  it  appears 
from  internal  evidence  to  have  been  writ- 
ten about  A.D.  1057.  It  is  acknowledged 
on  all  hands  to  be  of  the  utmost  value,  as 
the  connecting  link  in  the  history  of  the 
Gaels  of  Ireland  and  Scotland.  Colgan  says 
of  it,  "quo  ego  non  legi,  nee  Scoto-Britanni 


271 


There  will  be  found  to  be  nothing  more  true 
Or  more  plain. 

Sufficiently  have  we  followed  their  true  history, 

Much  more  do  we  know. 
The  race  of  Bregon,  as  it  is  handed  down. 

From  whence  is  their  originb. 


335 


IV. 

DUAN  ALBANACHC. 

OF  the  Dalriadans,  of  whom  we  have  lately  spokend,  we  have  no 
doubt  of  the  truth  of  the  little  we  have  attempted  of  their  origin  and 
genealogy  in  this  book.  We  set  down,  however,  here  an  ancient 
poem  of  the  history  of  the  Kings  of  Scotland. 

Thus  it  speaks,  although  it  is  defective"  in  counting  the  kings  in 
the  last  quatrain,  and  according  to  other  accounts  : 

O  all 


producunt,  ullum  Keguni  Scotorum  ve- 
tustiorem  Scriptorem."  O'Flaherty  says 
the  same  thing,  Ogyg.  p.  466;  and  Pin- 
kerton  calls  it,  "beyond  question  the  most 
ancient  monument  of  l)alriadic  history 
extant."  See  the  testimonies  collected 
by  Dr.  O'Conor,  Eer.  Ilib.  Script.,  torn.  i. 
Proleg.  p.  cxxii. 

It  is  here  edited  from  the  MS.  of  Dud- 
ley Mac  Firbis,  in  the  Library  of  the  Royal 
Irish  Academy,  copied  by  Mr.  Curry  from 
the  original  in  the  possession  of  the  Earl 
of  Roden.  Dr.  O'Conor  has  edited  it  from 
two  MSS.  in  the  Library  of  the  Duke  of 
Buckingham,  at  Stowe.  Mr.  Pinkerton 


has  also  printed  it,  with  a  very  erroneous 
version,  by  the  elder  Charles  O'Conor. 
As  Dr.  O'Conor's  version  is  also  full  of 
errors,  it  has  been  thought  necessary  to 
add  a  more  correct  translation  of  so  impor- 
tant a  document  to  the  present  work 

(21) 

d  Lately  spoken :  i.e.  Dudley  Mac  Firbis,  in 
his  genealogical  work,  from  which  this 
poem  is  taken,  had  lately  spoken  of  the 
families  of  Dal-Riada.  See  Reeves's  Eccl. 
Antiq.  of  Down  and  Connor,  p.  3 1 8. — (T.) 

e  Defective. — Hence  it  appears  that  the 
defects  of  this  poem  are  of  ancient  date. 
They  are  also  noted  by  O' Flaherty,  who 


272 

Q  eolcha  Glban  uile, 

a  fluaj  peuea  polrbuibe, 
cia  ceuo  jabail,  an  eol  ouib, 
po  jabapoaip  Glbanpuij  ? 

Glbanup  po  jab,  lia  a  plojj,  5 

mac  pen  oipoepc  Ipicon, 
bparaip  ip  bpiucup  jan  bpar, 
6  pdiceap  Qlba  earpac. 

l?o  lonnapb  a  bparaip  bpap 

bpiocup  rap  muip  n-lcr  n-arhnap,  10 

po  jab  bpiocup  Qlbain  am, 
750  pinn  piabnac  pouuodin. 


lap  m-6piocup  m-hlair,  m-bil, 

po  jabpao  clanna  Neitiib, 

epglan 

says:   "Verum  aliquot  desidcratis  disti-  first  verse  Dr.  O'Conor  takes  uile  as  agree- 

chis,  intcgrum  apographuni  rcperirc  non  ing  with  Qlbdn,  "  vos  docti  Albaniae  to- 

contigit."  —  Ogyg.   p.   467.      The  defect,  tius  ;"  but  he  ought  to  have  rendered  it, 

our    author    says,   is  manifest    from  the  "  vos  docti  Albania;  omnes."  Inverse3heis 

number  of  kings   (fifty-two)  mentioned  also  entirely  wrong  ;  he  translates  it,  "  Qui 

in  the  last  stanza,   which  does  not  agree  primi  didicerunt  scientiam  e  vestris  ;"  but 

with  the  number  given  in  the  poem,  or  juKuil  is  a  substantive,  not  a  verb.     Mr. 

with  that  given  by  other  authorities  —  Skene,  in  his  English  version  of  this  poem 

(T.)  (Collectanea  de  rebus  Albanicis,  edited  by 

'  The  land  of  Alba  —  Glbanpuij  may,  the  lona  Club,  p.  70),  is  still  further  from 

perhaps,    be  for    Qlbanpi^e,   the  king-  the  original,  for  he  renders  ver.  3,  "  Learn 

dom  of  Alba.  Pinkerton  and  Dr.  O'Conor  who  first."—  (T.) 

read    Ctlbanbpuij,   the   land    of  Alban,  B  Numerous.  —  Dr.   O'Conor  reads  pia, 

which  is  perhaps  correct,  or  pu'5  may  be  which  may  mean  with;  and  lia,  asPinkerton 

the  gen.  of  pu6,  a  wood  or  forest.     In  the  and  the  original  MS.  read,  may  be  for  le, 


273 

O  all  ye  learned  of  Alba  ! 

Ye  well  skilled  host  of  yellow  hair ! 

What  was  the  first  invasion — is  it  known  to  you  ? 

Which  took  the  land  of  Albaf  ? 

Albanus  possessed  it,  numerousg  his  hosts ;  5 

He  was  the  illustrious  son  of  Isacon, 
He  and  Briutus  were  brothers  without  deceit, 
From  him  Alba  of  ships  has  its  name. 

Briutus  banished  his  active11  brother 

Across  the  stormy  sea  of  Icht.  i  o 

Briutus  possessed  the  noble  Alba, 

As  far  as  the  conspicuous  promontory  of  Fothudan'. 

Long  after  Briutus  the  prosperous,  the  good, 
The  race  of  Nemhidh  took  it, 

Erglau 

with,  but  it  may  also  signify  numerous,  tice  in  any  of  the  other  accounts  of  a 
Mr.  Skene  renders  plo  j,  race,  which  is  brother  called  Bras.  6pap  means  active, 
wrong.  Dr.  O'Conor  might  have  taught  energetic,  restless.  For  the  sea  of  Icht, 
him  the  true  meaning.  In  the  next  line  see  p.  31,  note  ',  Dr.  O'Conor  and  Mr. 
Dr.  O'Conor  renders  mac  pein  "  filius  Skene  have  mistaken  the  meaning  of  the 
istius,''  which  ought  to  be  "  filius  ille  epithet  n-arinnar,  not  perceiving  that  the 
fuit."  For  ip,  in  line  7,  Dr.  O'Conor  and  n  was  merely  euphonic. — (T.) 
Pinkerton  read  DO.  For  the  fancied  de-  '  Fothudan. — I  am  not  able  to  identify 
scent  of  Albanus  and  Brutus  or  Britus  this  promontory  with  its  modern  name, 
from  Isicon  or  Isacon,  and  Japheth,  see  It  appears  to  be  here  spoken  of  as  the  ex- 
above,  p.  33. — (T.)  treme  northern  point  of  Scotland.  Old 
h  Active. — Pinkerton  and  Dr.  O'Conor  Charles  O'Conor  (in  Pinkerton)  and  Dr. 
take  bpap  as  a  proper  name,  and  trans-  O'Conor,  make  Fothudan  the  name  of  a 
late,  "His  brother  Bras;"  but  this  is  man;  the  former  translates  this  line  "to 
nonsense,  for  the  expelled  brother  was  the  plains  of  the  hunter  Fothudan ;"  and 
evidently  Albanus;  and  we  have  no  no-  the  latter,  "usque  ad  fines  venatoris  Fo- 

IRISH  ARCH.  SOC.   l6.  2  N 


274 


iaP  cceacr  ap  a  Icing, 
tio  aicle  cojla  cuip  Conuing. 

Cpuicmj  pop  jabpao  lapccain, 
mp  cciaccain  a  h-Gpeann-rhuij, 


15 


jabpao  oiob  an  Cpmrean-clap. 

Cacluan  an  ceo  pij  t>iob-pom, 
aipnenpeat)  oaoib  50  cumoip, 
pob  e  an  pi£  t>e£eanac  Di'b 
an  cup  calma  Cupamcin. 

Clanna  Gafac  ina  n-Diaij, 

gabpao  Qlbam  lap  n-aipDjliam, 
clanna  Conaipe  an  caoimpip, 
ro^aibe  na 


20 


25 


thudani."  But  pmn  is  certainly  a  promon- 
tory.  —  (T.) 

*Eiylan.—  Dr.  O'Conor  renders  the  word 
Gp^lun  as  an  adjective,  clamantes,  con- 
founding  it  with  apojlopac.  Mr.  Skenc 
makes  it  the  name  of  a  country.  "The 
race  of  Neimhidh,"  he  says,  "acquired 
Earglan,"  but  ho  does  not  tell  us  where 
"  Earglan"  was.  Old  Charles  O'Conor 
(see  Pinkerton,  vol.  ii.  p.  107)  made  it 
the  name  of  a  man,  one  of  the  leaders 
of  the  Nemedians,  and  for  this  he  has 
the  authority  of  the  Book  of  Leacan  (fol. 
276,  a),  where  we  have  the  following 
account  of  the  Nemedian  chieftains  who 
survived  the  battle  in  which  Conaing's 
tower  was  destroyed.  t)o  looap  pin  pop 


Upi 

Gpfno  pop  ceicfo  u  n-jalaip  i 
in  chipa.  TTlapb  6eochacli  DO  charh  i 
n-6pino.  Q  oeich  mna  Dia  eip  ppi  pe 
rpi  pichic  bliaoan.  ^uio  ©bar  -|  a  mac 
.1.  6aarh  a  cuaipceipc  in  Domain.  ^UID 
PTlacan  -\  ©apjlan,  i  lapracc  .1.  rpi  meic 
6eoam  micSoaipn  co  t)obap,  -\  co  h-lpp- 
oobup  a  cuuipceipc  Qlban.  "  They 
passed  under  the  shadow  of  Eri,  retreat- 
ing  from  their  distempers  and  tributes. 
Beothach  died  of  a  plague  in  Eri.  His 
ten  wives  survived  him  three-score  years. 
Ebath  and  his  son,  i.e.  Baath,  passed 
into  the  north  of  the  world.  Matan  and 
Erglan  and  larthacht,  i.  e.  the  three  sons 
of  Beoan,  son  of  Sdarn,  with  Dobar  and 
Irrdobar,  to  the  north  of  Albain."—  (T.) 


275 

Erglank,  after  having  disembarked  from  his  ships,  1 5 

After  the  destruction  of  Conaing's  tower1. 

The  Cruithnians  seized  it  afterwards"1, 

After  they  had  come  from  the  plain"  of  Eri, 

Seventy  noble  kings  of  them 

Possessed  the  Cruithnian  plain.  20 

Cathluan0  waa  the  first  king  of  them, 
(I  tell  unto  you  briefly), 
The  last  king  of  them  was 
The  brave  hero  Cusaintin. 

The  children  of  Eochadhp  after  them  25 

Seized  upon  Alba,  after  great  wars ; 
The  children  of  Conaire,  the  comely  man, 
Chosen  men  were  the  mighty  Gaedhil. 

The 

1  Conaing's  tower.  —  See  above,  p.  48,  in  making  it  plural),  instead  of  O'Conor'ts 
noted.  This  tower  is  supposed  to  have  been  "  Cruthniam  illustrem.'" — (T.) 
on  Tory  island,  Co.  Donegal.  See  O'Dono-  °  Cathluan. — See  above,  pp.  125,  139, 
van's  Four  Masters,  at  A.M.  3066. — (T.)  159.  In  line  22,  50  cumaip  does  not  sig- 
m  Afterwards.  —  Mr.  Skene  translates,  nify  veraciter,  as  Dr.  O'Conor  renders  it, 
"The  Cruithne  acquired  the  western  re-  nor  explicitly,  as  Mr.  Skene  has  it.  Pin- 
gion."  Dr.  O'Conor  has  rendered  it  cor-  kerton  reads  50  oeiriiin,  verily — (T.) 
rectly — (T.)  p  Eochadh,  i.  e.  Eochadh  Muinreamhar, 
n  Plain. — Meaning,  perhaps,  maj  6pej,  of  the  race  of  Conaire  II.,  King  of  Ireland, 
or  Bregia.  See  above,  p.  125.  Comp.  the  ancestor  of  the  Dalriadan  kings  of  Ire- 
also  pp.  139,  145.  Old  Charles  O'Conor,  land  and  Scotland.  Seelleeves'sEcc.  Antiq. 
in  Pinkerton,  and  Dr.  O'Conor,  render  p.  320.  King  Conaire  was  called  Caomh,  or 
plains  in  the  plural,  which  is  wrong.  Mr.  the  beautiful  (as  in  line  27),  to  distinguish 
Skene  falls  into  the  same  error,  but  he  him  from  Conaire  L,  who  was  called  Conaire 
has  corrected  Dr.  O'Conor's  "  in  Hiber-  Mor,  or  the  Great.  Inline  27,  O'Conor  and 
nise  campos."  In  line  20  he  is  also  right  Skene  read  na  caiorii  pip,  which  would  be 
in  rendering  clap  plains  (although  wrong  plural,  and  is  evidently  wrong (T.) 


276 

mec  Gpc  mec  Gacbctc  aic, 
cpiap  puaip  beannaccaip  pdcpaicc,  30 

£abpat>  aibam,  apo  a  n-^up, 
Loapn,  peap^up  ip  Ctonjup. 

Oec  m-bba6na  Coapn,  lep  blab, 
i  pplaiceap  oipip  Qlban, 

rap  ep  Loapn  pel  50  n-^iip,  35 

peace  m-blmbna  piceac  peapjup. 

Oomangapc  mac  o'peap^up  apo, 
aipearh  cuift  m-bliaban  m-biorjapg, 
a  .jrjrnn.  gnn  cpoio, 
no  Cornwall,  mac  Oorhanjoipc.  40 

Oa  Miaban  Conainj  j;ari  cdip, 
cap  ep  Corh^aill  Do  5°^Pari» 
cpi  bliabna  po  cm?;  ?;an  poinn, 
ba  pi  Conall,  mac  Corhjoill. 

Cerpe 

''  Valiant The  word  aic  is  rendered  prince  of  Dakradia],  "  et  voce  prophe- 

xt minus  by  Colgan,  Trias  Thaum.,  p.  115,  t.ica  dixit  ad  ilium;  Licet  hodie  videaris 

col.  i,  where  he  quotes  lines  25-40.     In  humilis,  et  dcspectus  in  conspectu fratrum 

line  31   he  renders  apo  a  n^uf,    "elato  tuoruni,   eris   in   brevi   princeps  illorum 

animo."      5ur   signifies   mind,    courage,  omnium.     I)e  te  enim  optimi  reges  egre- 

spirit;  see  line  35.     Dr.  O'Conor  and  Mr.  dientur,  qui  non  solum  in  terra  propria, 

Skene  read  apo  njup,  which  is  evidently  sed  etiam  in  regione  longinqua  et  pere- 

u  mistake — (T.)  grina  principabuntur ;"  and  see  Colgan's 

r  Patrick. — See   Jocelyn,  Vit.   S.  Patr.  note  on  this  passage,  Tr.  Thaum.,  p.  114. 

c.  137,  where  this  blessing  is  described  as  — (T.) 

given  to  Fergus  only ;"  Sanctus  vero  Pa-          *  Bounds Colgan  (uli  supr.*)  renders 

tricius  prffidictum  benedixit  Fergusium"  this  line  "  in  principatu  finium  Albanise." 

[soil.  Fergus  Muinreamhar,  son  of  Ere,  The  poet  wishes  to  intimate  that  Loam's 


277 

The  three  sons  of  Ere,  son  of  Eochadh  the  valiant", 

Three  who  obtained  the  blessing  of  Patrickr,  3  o 

Seized  upon  Alba,  exalted  was  their  courage, 
Loarn,  Feargus,  and  Aongus. 

Ten  years  was  Loarn  (it  is  known  to  fame) 
In  the  government  of  the  bounds8  of  Alba, 
After  the  generous,  courageous1  Loarn,  35 

Seven  and  twenty  years  reigned  Fergus. 

Domhangart,  the  son  of  noble  Fergus, 
Numbered  for  five  turbulent  years  ; 
Twenty-four  without  a  battle 
Are  assigned  to  Comhghall,  son  of  Domhangart.  40 

Two  prosperous  years  without  contempt, 
After  Comhghall,  are  assigned  to  Gabhran, 
Three  years  five  times"  without  interruption, 
Was  Conall,  son  of  Comhghall,  king. 

Four 

sovereignty  extended   to  the  very  extre-  has  phel  50  nj;up,  and  translates  absurd- 

inities  of  Alban.     Pinkerton  reads  lap-  ly,   "  a  space  likewise."     Mr.  Skene  fol- 

chaip  Qlban,  "  of  western  Alban,"  which  lows  O'Conor's  reading,  which  he  renders, 

is  a  mistake.     Dr.  O'Conor  has  the  right  not  very  intelligibly,   "  keenly  the   talu.'' 

reading,  but  translates  it  illustrious  ;  and  See  line  31.     Fergus  was   surnamed  the 

Mr.  Skene,  not  satisfied  with  this,  makes  Great,  and  was  called  Mac  Mise,  from  the 

it  a  proper  name,    "  Oirir  Alban,"  but  name  of  his  mother.     O'Flaherty  assigns 

without  explaining  what  he  supposed  to  only  sixteen  years  to  his  reign,  which  he 

be  meant.     For  the  genealogy  of  Loarn  says  commenced  A.D.  513. — Ogyg.  p.  472. 

see  Ogyg.  p.  470— (T.)  —(T.) 

'  Courageous Colgan   reads,  peil   ju  u  Three  years  Jive  times:  i.e.  15.     Mr. 

ngup  ;  O'Conor,  fjel  50  njup,  which  he  Skene  renders  this,   erroneously,   "  three 

renders  "  historia  est  nota."     Pinkerton  years  and  five;"  although  Dr.  O'Conor's 


278 

Cecpe  bliabna  piceac  rail  45 

ba  T?f  Goban  na  n-iol-pann, 
Dec  m-bliabna  po  peace,  peol  n-gle, 
i  pplaiceap  Gacac  6ui6e. 

CoTincab  Ceapp  pence,  pel  blaD, 

a  .;rui.  Dia  mac  peapchap  50 

cap  ep  peapcaip,  peajaiD  painn, 
.jam.  bliabna  Oomnaill. 

Uap  ep  Oorhnaill  bpic  na  m-bla, 
Conall,  Oun^al  .p.  m-blia6na, 

.;nii.  bliabna  Oommnll  Oumn,  55 

cap  ep  Oun^ail  ip  Chonuill. 

TTlaolDuin  mac  Conaill  na  ccpeac 
a  .;ruii.  Do  50  oli^ceac, 

peapcaip 

version  is  correct.     In  line  41  Pinkerton  '  Ten  years  seven  times:  i.e.  seventy  years, 

reads,  chonncnl  jan  cap ;  Dr.  O'Conor,  This   has  been  translated  by  old  Charles 

concur^  jan  cap.     A  note  in  the  margin  O'Conor,  who  furnished  Pinkerton  with 

of  Mac  Firbis's  MS.  makes  Conaing  the  his  version  of  this  poem,   "  ten  years  by 

name  of  a  king,  who  reigned   conjointly  seven,"   which    certainly  meant    70,   al- 

with  Gobhran ;  but  this  must  be  a  mis-  though  Pinkerton  understood  it  1 7.  And 

take (T.)  it  has  been  rendered  17  by  Dr.  O'Conor 

x  Provinces  :  lit.  "  of  many  divisions."  and  Mr.  Skene.     But  let  the  authority 

Dr.   O'Conor  and   Mr.  Skene   translate,  of  theDuan  suffer  as  it  may,  oec  m-bliao- 

"  of  golden  swords,"  reading  na  n-oplann.  na  po  peachc  must  mean  seventy  years. 

But    Dr.    O'Conor   mentions    the   other  O'Flahcrty  assigns  to  Aidan  a  reign  of 

reading,  p.  cxxxvii.      Pinkerton    reads,  thirty-two  years,  and  to  Eochaidh  Buidhe 

na  niolpann,  "  of  extended  plains."  Call,  twenty-three,  following  the  authority  of 

in  line  45,  signifies  within,  i.  e.  in  posses-  Tighernach.     In  line  47,  peol  is  literally 

sion, — an  ancient  brehon  law  term — (T.)  sailing,  and  signifies  his  lifetime,  career, 


279 

Four  years  and  twenty  in  possession,  45 

Was  Aodhan,  king  of  many  provinces" ; 
Ten  years  seven  times",  a  glorious  career, 
Was  the  sovereignty  of  Eoehadh  Buidhe, 

Connchad  Cearr  reigned  a  quarter,  renowned  in  fame, 

Sixteen  years  his  son  Fearchar,  50 

After  Fearchar  (inspect  the  poemsz), 
The  fourteen  years  of  Domhnall. 

After  Domhnall  Breac,  of  the  townsa, 
Conall  and  Dungall,  ten  years, 

The  thirteen  years  of  Domhnall  Dunn,  55 

After  Dungall  and  Conall. 


O 


Maeldun,  son  of  Conall,  of  forays, 
Reigned  seventeen  years  legitimately, 

Fearchain 

reign. — (T.)  his   reign. — See  Tighernach,  ad  an.  637, 

2  The  poems :  i.  e.  the  historical  poems,  and  O'Donovan's  Battle  of  Magh  Rath, 

which  were  the  bardic  historians'  autho-  pp.  48,  49. — (T.) 

rities ;  or  which  constituted  the  title  deeds  *  Of  the  towns. — Dr.   O'Conor  renders 

of  the  kings  named.    See  the  Brehon  law  this  "  celebrem  fama,"  confounding  bid 

tract  (H.  3.  1 8,  p.  22)  in  the  Library  of  with  bluo,  fame,  a  totally  different  word, 

Trin.  Coll.  Dublin.     Mr.  Skene  renders  which   occurred  a  little  before,  line  49, 

these  words,    "  by  dominion  of  swords,"  where  he  renders  pel  blab,  very  absurdly, 

confounding  pamn  with  pinn;    but  Dr.  "  regno  legitimo  inclyto,"  and  Mr.  Skene, 

O'Conor's  version  is  correct.     The  reigns  still  more  strangely,   "  a  shooting  star." 

assigned  to  Fearchar  and  Domhnall  in  this  In  the  Brehon  laws,  bid  is  put  for  baile, 

stanza  are  too  long.     See  Ogyg.  p.  477;  a  town   or  townland.     The  two  Domh- 

and  Pinkerton,  vol.  ii.  p.  117.    This  was  nails  or  Donnells  are  distinguished  by  the 

the  Domhnall  who  was  defeated  at  the  Bat-  surnames  of  Breac,  speckled,  and  Donn, 

tie  of  Magh  Rath,  which  gives  the  date  of  brown — (T.) 


280 

peapcaip  PODO,  peaja  leac, 

DO  caic  btiaDain  ap  .;r;r.  60 

Da  bliabain  Gacbac  na-n-eac, 
po  ba  calma  an  pi  pijreac, 
aoin  bliabain  ba  plair  laprcain, 
Ginceallac  maic  mac  peapcaip. 

Seacc  m-bliabna  Oun^ail  Dem,  65 

acup  a  ceacaip  DO  Qilpen, 
cpi  bliaDna  TTluipeaDoi^  rhaic, 
r.  DO  GOD  na  apDplaic. 


Ct  ceauaip  picear,  nip  pann, 

DO  bliaonaib  Do  caic  Oorhnall,  70 

Da  BliaDam  Conaill,  cem  n-jle, 
ip  a  cearaip  Chonaill  ele. 

Naoi  m-blia6na  Cupainnn  cam, 
a  naoi  Qon5»pa  ap  Qlbain, 

cefpe 

b  Behuld  than  —  Dr.O'Conor's  copy  reads,  renders  it,  perhaps  correctly  —  (T.) 
le^aleac,  "  read  by  thyself."  The  phrase,          d  Afterwards  __  Mr.  Skene  renders  tap 

"look  you!"  is   still  in   use;  see  above,  ream,  "of  the  western  regions,"not  know- 

line  51.      For   pooa,  long,   the  appella-  ing  that  Irish  scribes  write  re  for  o.     The 

tion  here  given  to  Fearchair,  Dr.  O'Conor  death  of  Ainchellach  is  given  by  Tighernach 

reads  poja,  which  is  a  mistake.  SeeO'Fla-  under  the  year  719.      After  Ainchellach 

herty,  p.  479  —  (T.)  the  Annals  mention  two  kings:  Selbhach, 

c  Mansions.  —  The  word  pi^ceac  seems  sonofFerchair,andbrotherof  Ainchellach; 

to  be  a  compound  of  pi  j,  a  king,  and  ceac,  and  Eochadh  III.,  son  of  Eochadh  II.,  who 

a  house  ;  or  ceac  may  be  merely  the  ad-  is  mentioned  line  61.    O'Flaherty  assigns 

jective    termination,   in  which    case  the  to  these  two  reigns  a  period  of  fourteen 

word  will  signify  royal,   as  Mr.  Skene  years,  from  A.  D.  719  to  733,  in  which 


a8i 

Fearchair  the  Long,  behold  thoub 

Passed  one  year  over  twenty.  60 

The  two  years  of  Eochadh  of  steeds, 

He  was  the  brave  king  of  royal  mansions0; 
For  one  year  was  king  afterwards*1 
Aincheallach  the  Good,  son  of  Fearchair. 

The  seven  years  of  Dungal'  the  impetuous,  65 

And  four  to  Alpin, 

The  three  years  of  Muireadhach  the  good, 
Thirty  to  Aodh,  as  supreme  king. 

Four  and  a  score,  not  imbecile, 

Of  years  Domhnall  spent ;  70 

The  two  years  of  Conall  of  glorious  career, 
And  the  four  of  another  Conall. 

The  nine  years  of  Cusaintin  the  fair ; 
The  nine  of  Aongus  over  Alban ; 

The 

last  year  the  death  of  Eochadh  mac  Eoch-  Duan  all  occur  in  connexion  with  a  king 
ach  is  recorded  by  Tighernach.  Pinker-  of  this  name.  Thus,  for  Sealbhach  and 
ton  gives  Selbhach  a  reign  of  twenty  years,  Eochaidh  III.,  the  Duan  substitutes  Dun- 
and  to  Eochaidh  "  about  ten."  The  Duan  gal  and  Alpin  ;  it  omits  Dungal  and 
is  therefore  here  corrupted.  A  stanza  ap-  Eochaidh  IV.,  who  ought  to  come  in 
pears 'to  have  been  omitted,  and  the  two  between  Muiredach  (line  67)  and  Aodh 
lines  65  and  66,  as  Dr.  O'Conor  suggests,  (line  68);  and  it  also  omits  Eochaidh  V. 
were  probably  transposed  to  fill  up  the  and  Alpin,  who  ought  to  come  in  between 
gap;  but  they  contain  the  wrong  names.  Eoganan  (line  76)  and  Cionaeth  or  Ken- 
There  was  probably  some  confusion  made  neth  Mac  Alpin  (line  77).  It  is  further 
by  an  early  copyist  in  the  Eochaidhs,  for  remarkable  that  these  errors  are  in  each 
it  is  remarkable  that  the  defects  in  the  case  double,  arising  from  the  original 

IKISH  ARCH.  SOC.    1 6.  20 


282 

cerjie  blmbna  Qoba  am,  75 

ipa  cpi  06115  Gojandm. 

Tpfoca  bliaoam  Cionaoir  cjiuaib, 
a  cearaip  Domnall  DjiecjiuaiD, 
.;c;c;r.  bliaoain  co  na  bjifj, 
r>on  cujiao  Do  Cupaincnt. 

Da  bliaoain,  ba  oaop  a  oar, 

Da  bparaip  oo  Qo6  pionnpcocac, 
Domnall,  mac  Cupainan  coin, 
po  cair  bliaDam  pa  ceafaip. 

Cufamcin  ba  calma  a  jleac,  85 

po  caic  a  pe  ip  Da  piceac, 
Ulaolcoluim  cerpe  bliabna, 
lonoolb  a  h-ocr  aipopia^la. 

Seacc 

omission  of  two  kings,  and  the  subsequent  '  Eughanan. — Here  a  stanza  seems  to  be 
attempt  to  mend  the  defect  by  transposi-  omitted,  of  which  lines  65  and  66  proba- 
tion. The  list,  as  given  by  O'Flaherty,  bly  formed  part,  except  that  for  Dungal, 
with  the  duration  of  each  reign,  if  as  in  line.  65,  we  should  read  Eochadh.  See 
follows:  Muiredach,  three  years;  Duu-  last  note.  From  the  next  king,  Cionaith 
ual  II.,  seven;  Eochadh  IV.,  five;  Aodh  or  Kenneth  Mac  Alpin,  the  list  of  kings 
Fionn,  or  Aodh  I.,  thirty;  Uomhnall  III.,  here  given  agrees,  or  originally  did  agree, 
twenty- four;  ConallUL,  two;  Conall  IV.,  with  the  Chronicon  Pictorum;  see  above, 
four;  Constantino,  nine;  Aongus,  nine;  p.  167,  where  a  reign  of  sixteen  years 
Aodh  II. ,  four  ;  Eoganan,  thirteen  ;  only  is  assigned  to  Cionaith. — (T.) 
Eochadh  V.,  part  of  one  ;  Alpin,  four  ;  f  White  jlowers. — The  word  pionnpco- 
Kenneth  Mac  Alpin,  thirty  ;  Domhnal  coc  signifies  white  or  fair  flowers.  Old 
Mac  Alpin,  four;  Constantino  II.,  Mac  Charles  O'Conor  renders  it  "the  fair 
Cinaodha  (i.  e.  son  of  Kenneth),  four-  haired,"  which  is  only  an  attempt  to  ex- 
teen  ;  Aodh  Mac  Cionaodha,  two — (T.)  plain  white  flowers.  Dr.  O'Conor  and 


283 

The  four  years  of  Aodh  the  noble ;  75 

And  the  thirteen  of  Eoghanan6. 

The  thirty  years  of  Cionaoith  the  hardy, 
Four  Domhnall  of  the  ruddy  countenance, 
Thirty  years,  with  his  vigour, 
To  the  hero,  to  Cusaintin.  So 

Two  years  (hard  was  his  complexion) 

To  his  brother,  to  Aodh,  of  the  white  flowers' ; 
Domhnal,  son  of  Cusaintin  the  fair, 
Reigned  a  year  four  timesK. 

Cusaintin,  brave  was  his  combath,  85 

Reigned  six  and  two  score  years; 
Maolcoluim  four  years ; 
Indolph  eight,  of  supreme  sovereignty. 

The 

Mr.  Skene  translate  it  "  white  shielded,"  herty  was  misled  by  it  here,  and  assigns 

taking  pcorac  for  pciarac.     Constantino  to  Domhnal,  son  of  Constantine,  a  reign 

(line  80)  and  this  Aodh  Fionnscothach  of  five  years.      Dr.  O'Conor  renders    it 

were  the  sons  of  Kenneth   Mac  Alpin.  "  annum  cum  quatuor  (annis)."    The  au- 

Girig  (or  Gregory)   Mac  Dungail   is  in-  thor  adopted  the  unusual  mode  of  saying 

serted  between  Aodh  and  Domhnall,  son  four,  only  for  the  sake  of  his  metre.     Ro 

of  Constantine,  both  in  O'Flaherty's  list  cair  (line  84)  signifies  spent  or  passed 

and  in  the  Chron.  Pictorum.     See  above,  (on   the  throne),   i.  e.    lived  or  reigned ; 

p.  167.     But  he  is  omitted  by  the  Duan,      see  lines  60  and  70 (T.) 

perhaps  designedly.  —  (T.)  ''  Combat:  i.  e.,  probably,  his  contest  for 

?  A  year  four  times  :  i.  e.    four  years.  the  throne;  jleac  is  a  fight,  a  battle,  not 

The  reader  will  observe  that  this  is  the  "  impetus    in    pra;liis,"  as    Dr.  O'Conor 

same  form  of  expression  which  has  been  renders  it.   This  Constantine  was  the  son 

already  misunderstood  by  former  trans-  of  Aodh,   who  was  the   son   of  Kenneth 

lators;  see  lines  43  and  47.    Even  O'Fla-  Mac  Alpin;  see  line  82. — (T.) 

2  O  2 


284 

Seacc  m-blia6na  Oubooa  Den, 

acup  aceacaip  Cuilen,  90 

a  -jcjain.  op  506  cloinn, 

DO  Cionaoc,  mac  ITlaoilcoluim. 

Seacc  m-bliaona  Cupaincin  clum, 
acup  a  cearaip  TTlacbuiB, 

cpioca6  bbanam,  bpeacaiD  pamn,  95 

ba  pi  TTlonaiO  TTlaolcolaim. 

Se  bliaona  OonncaiD  glain  gaoir 
.jcun.  bliabna  mac  pionnlaoic, 
cap  ef  TTlec  beafaiD  50  m-blaio, 
.un.  mfp  i  pplaiciop  Lu^lai^.  100 

TTlaolcoluim  anopa  ap  pi, 
mac  Oonncai6  Daca  Dpecb'i, 
a  pe  noca  n-piDip  neac, 
ace  an  c-eolac  ap  eolac.     Q  eolca. 

Oa 

'  Dubhoda. — This  is  the  king  who  is  partc  octavi  ml  annum  1004." — Ogyg. 

called  Cinaal,  vel  Dubh,  in  the  list  given  p.  488.  There  is  evidently  some  conf'u- 

ahove,  p.  167.  He.  is  also  called  DuiFus  siou  in  these  names  in  the  Irish  version 

by  some  writers.  See  Ogyg.  p.  487,  of  the  Chronicon  Pictorum,  which  was 

where  O'Flaherty  translates  his  name  Lynch's  authority  in  the  place  referred 

"  Odo  niger." — (T.)  to  of  Cambr.  Eversus;  but  still  it  is  pro- 

k  Mac  Duibh,  or  Maaduff;  i.  e.  the  son  bable  that  "  Cinead  fil  Dubh"  there  men- 

of  Dubhoda,  line  39.  O'Flaherty  says:  tioned (see  p. 1 67,  *;*/«•«),  was  the  same  who 

"  Grimus,  Scotice  Macduibh;  hoc  est  is  here  called  Mac  Duibh  or  Macduff.-(T.) 

Duffi  seu  Dubhodonis  filius,  quern  pro-  '  Verse.?  mark.  —  The  word  bpeucaio 

prio  nomine  Kenneth  dictum  invenio.  is  not  very  intelligible;  if  it  were  bpeac- 

Rex  Pictorum  octennio — Cambr.  Ever,  cam,  it  would  mean  as  verses  embel- 

page  94.  Quippe  7  annis  ab  anno  997  et  lish,  celebrate,  adorn.  Dr.  O'Conor's  ver- 


285 

The  seven  years  of  Dubhoda'  the  vehement, 

And  four  of  Cuilen,  90 

Twenty-seven  over  every  clan, 
To  Cionoath,  son  of  Maoilcholuim. 

Seven  years  to  Cusaintin,  listen  ! 
And  four  to  Mac  Duibhk, 

Thirty  years  (as  verses  mark1)  95 

Was  Maelcolaim  king  of  Monaidhm. 


a 


The  six  years  of  Donnchad  the  wise, 

Seventeen  years  the  son  of  Fionnlaoich"  ; 

After  Mac  Beathaidh,  the  renowned, 

Seven  months  was  Lughlaigh  in  the  sovereignty.  100 

Maelcoluim  is  now  the  king0, 

Son  of  Donnchad  the  florid,  of  lively  visage, 

His  duration  knoweth  no  man 

But  the  Wise  One,  the  Most  Wise.     O  ye  learned1'. 

Two 

sion,  which  Mr.  Skene  translates,  "ofchc-  mothers's  name.   See  above,  p.  167 — (T.) 

quered  portions,"  can  only  be  regarded  as  "  Is  now  the  king. — Malcolm,    son    of 

a  guess. — (T.)  Donnchad,  slew  his  predecessor  Lulach, 

m  Monaidh:  i.e.  Dun  Monaidh  in  Lome,  on  the  I  st  of  January,  A.  D.  1058,  accord- 
in  Scotland,  the  well-known  fortress  or  ing  to  Tighernach,  and  was  himself  killed 
palace  of  the  Dalriadic  kings  of  Scotland:  in  1093.  This  determines  the  age  of  the 
now  Dunstaffnage.  See  Battle  of  Magh  poem,  and  also  of  the  list  of  kings  before 
Rath,  p.  46,  n.  a.  Dr.  O'Conor  makes  the  given,  which  also  terminates  with  Mai- 
absurd  blunder  of  translating  pi  TTlonaio,  colm,  and  was  therefore,  probably,  written 
"rex  montium,"  and  in  this  he  is  fol-  in  his  reign.  See  above,  p.  167. — (T.) 
lowed  by  Mr.  Skene (T.)  <' 0 ye  learned. — Qeolca.  Thefirst  words 

"  Son  of  Fionnlaoich:  i.  e.    Mac   Bea-  of  the  poem  are  written  here  in  the  mar- 

thaidh,  or  Macbeth,   so  called   from  his  gin,  according  to  a  custom  of  ancient  Irish 


286 


Oa  pi£  pop  caojao,  cluine, 
50  mac  OonncaiO  opfc  puipe, 
DP  fiol  6pc  apo^lain  anoip, 
Qlbam  a 


I05 


seribes,  who  used  to  write  in  the  margin 
the  initial  word  of  the  poem,  whenever  the 
same  word  occurred  at  the  end  of  a  line. 
Colgan  quotes  this  stanza,  Trias  Thaum., 
p.  115,  and  translates  it  thus : 

"  Malculmusnuncest  Ilex, 

Filius  Donnchadi  speciosi  et  vividi  vultus, 

Ejus  annos  non  novit  ullua 

Prater  ilium  scientem,  qui  omnia  novit." 


''  Kings Only  forty-seven  kings  are 

enumerated  in  the  present  text  of  the 
poem.  But  O'Flaherty  has  made  up  the 
number  of  fifty-two  from  the  Annals  and 
other  sources. 

The  comparison  of  his  list  with  the 
poem  shews  that  in  the  latter  two  kings 
have  been  transposed,  and  five  omitted. 
The  transposed  kings  are  Dungal,  changed 


287 

Two  kingsq  over  fifty,  listen  ! 

To  the  son  of  Donnchadh  of  royal  countenance, 
Of  the  race  of  Ere,  the  noble,  in  the  easf, 
Obtained  Alba,  O  ye  learned. 


from  the  twenty-second  to  the  nineteenth 
place,  and  Alpin,  changed  from  the  thirty- 
third  to  the  twentieth.  The  omitted  kings 
are  No.  19,  Selvach;  the  three  Eochaidhs 
(viz.  No.  20,  Eochaidh  Mac  Eochaidh;  23, 
Eochaidh  Angbhuidh;  32,  Eochaidh  Mac 
Aodha  finn);  and  38,  Gairig,  or  Gregory 
Mac  Dungail — (T.) 


'  The  east:  i.  e.  east  of  Ireland.  Scotland 
is  frequently  called  "  the  East"  by  Irish 
writers.  This  proves  that  the  poem,  or  at 
least  this  stanza,  was  written  in  Ireland, 
and  not  in  Scotland.  For  anoip,  Dr.  O'Co- 
nor  and  Mr.  Skene  read  an  oip,  "  of  the 
gold,"  which  is  wrong,  and  makes  no 
sense — (T.) 


ADDITIONAL  NOTES. 


IRISH  AHCH.  SOC.    1 6. 


Ill 


ADDITIONAL  NOTES. 


No.  I.     Seepage  29. 

THE  following  table  exhibits  a  comparative  view  of  the  names  of  the  cities  in  the 
Irish  and  Latin  copies,  with  the  supposed  modern  names : 

IRISH  COPIES.  LATIN  COPIES.  EXPLANATIONS. 

f  Gwrthernion  in  Radnorshire. 
Caer  Gortigern Caer  Gurthigirn •?       Caer  Gwerthrynyawn  ar 

I.      llan  Gwy.  Triad,  vi.  s.  2. 
C.  Grutus  [Gutais.  L.  B.]     C.  Graunth Cambridge  or  Grantchester. 

(  Verulam,  at  or  near  St.  Al- 
C.  Mencest C.  Mencipit  or  Mumcip.  .  .  J 

(      ban's. 

C.  Leuill C.  Luadiit  or  Luilid Carlisle. 

C.  Medguid  [Meguaid,  L.  i    . 

'  C.  Meguid MeivodinMontgomeryshire. 

B-J I 

C.  Colin C.  Colun Colnchester  in  Essex. 

C.  Gusdirt  [Gustint.  L.  B.]     C.  Custeint Caernarvon. 

C.  Abrog C.  Ebrauc  or  Eborauc.  .  .  .  York. 

(  Old  Sarum.    Also  a  fortress 
C.  Caradog C.  Caratauc -c       .     _,.          ,  . 

I      in  Shropshire. 

C.  Brut[Graat.  L.  B.]  .  .      C.  Britton Bristow?  or  Dunbarton? 

f  Mancester  in  Warwickshire? 
C.  Machod C.  Mauchguid <  „ 

(.      or  Manchester  i 

C.  Lunaind   TLuffain.    L.  1  ., 

L  \  C.  Lunden London. 

Ludain.  B.J J 

IRISH 


a  I  believe  I  have  correctly  allotted  the  equiva-       the  translator  had  probably  an  eye  to  one  of  the 
lents,  in  the  Irish  and  Brito-Latin  lists.     Though       Manchestera  when  he  wrote  Mencest. 

a  2 


IV 

IRISH  COPIES.  LATIN  COPIES.  EXPLANATIONS. 

C.  Oen  [Cose.  L.  Caisi.  B.]  C.  Gwent  ...........     Chepstowh. 

C.  Irangin  FGirangon,   L.  »  .  „, 

I  C.  Guoirangon  ........     Worcester. 

Giraigon,  B.]   ......  J 

C.  Pheus  ..........      C.  Peris  ...........  Portchester  in  Hampshire. 

C.  Don  [Minchip.  L.  B.]      C.  Daun  ...........  Doncaster. 

C.  Loninoperuisc  [Leo  an-  ~\ 

aird  puisc  L.  Leoinar-  /•  C.  Legion  Guarusik  .....  Caerleon-upon-Usk. 

pliuisc.  B.]   .......  J 

C.  Grugan  .........      C.  Gorieon  or  Guorcon.    .   .  Warwickc? 

C.  Sant  ...........      C.  Segeint  ..........  Silchester  in  Hampshire. 

f  Caerleon-upon-Dee,    i.  e. 
C.  Legun  [Legion.  L.  B.]     C.  Ligion.  ...  ,      chester_ 

C.  Guidiud  [Guhent.  L.  |  {  Norwich,  or  Winchester,  or 

Guent.  B.]  .......  (  I  Winwick  in  Lancashire. 

f  Bristow  ;  or  rather  Dun- 
C.  Breatan  ........  C.  Britton  ..........  <  breatan,  Dunbritton,  or 

(.      Dunbarton. 

C.  Loiridoin  [Lergun.   L.  ) 

T     .       _  ,  f  C.  Lmon  ...........     Leicester. 

Lenon.  B.]  .......  J 

,,   r>  i     •„,  f  Exeter,    or  Lostwithiel,  or 

C.  Pendsa  ..........      C.  Pensavelcoit'1  .......  -I 

Ilchester,  or  Pevensey. 

C.  Druithgolgod  [Druithe-  "J 

colcoit.   L.   Gluteolcoit.  /•  C.  Droithon  .........     Dray  ton  in  Shropshire. 


f  Vulgo  Lincoln  ;  but  rather 
C.  Luiticoit  .........      C.  Luitcoit  ..........  )       Leeds  Thoresby.    Duca- 

(      tus,  p.  9. 
C.  Urnacht   [Urtocht.    L.  | 

U  -t    h   B  1  f       Urnacn  .........        Wroxeter  in  Shropshire. 

C.  Eilimon  [Ceilimon.   L.  | 

Ceilimeno   B  1  I  C'  (-'elemion  .........     Camalet  in  Somersetshire6. 

The 

11  See  Llwyd's  Brit.  Descript.  Commentariolum.  c  Caer  Gwair,  ap.  Llwyd.  p.  33. 

According   to   him  Chepstovv    is  Caer  Went,  p.  d  Pen-savle-coed,  static  capitalis  in  Bvlva. 

1(12;    and    Winchester    is  Caer  Wynt,   City   of  "  The  conjecture  of  Camden,  i.  178,  ed.  Gib- 

Wind,  p.  21  ;  Triad,  iv.  series  1.  son. 


The  root  of  these  lists  of  the  twenty-eight  cities  is  in  the  commencement  of  the  Liber 
Querulus  of  Gildas,  who  describes  Britannia  as  being  "  bis  denis  bisque  quaternis  civitati- 
bus,  ac  nonnullis  castellis,  &c.  decorata;"  and  seenis  as  if  he  were  quoting  part  of  his 
words  from  some  poet;  cap.  I,  andBeda,  i.  cap.  I.  The  general  tradition  is,  that  they  were 
the  sees  of  the  twenty-five  bishops  and  three  archbishops  of  the  British  Church ;  as  may 
be  seen  at  large  in  Ussher's  Primordia,  cap.  5.  The  three  archbishoprics  were  London, 
York,  and  Caerleon-upon-Usk.  The  allusion  to  the  words  of  Gildas  and  Beda  in  those 
of  the  Historia  is  so  apparent,  that  we  cannot  doubt  but  the  original  number  in  Mar- 
cus was  xxviii. ;  and  that  the  scribe  of  946  altered  it,  by  the  introduction  of  other  names 
he  had  collected,  and  expunged  (as  false  and  exaggerated)  those  remarkable  words  in 
which  the  author  seems  to  pay  a  compliment  to  Fernmael  Lord  of  Guortigerniawn,  and 
perhaps  to  his  own  native  place,  "  prima  civitas  Britannia?  est  qua;  vocatur  Caer 
Gurthigirn."  Of  his  thirty-three  cities  the  copier  places  York  and  Canterbury,  the 
two  palls  or  archiepiscopates  of  England,  first  and  second;  thereby  shewing  that  his 
repeated  dates  of  "  quintus  Eadmundi  regis"  correctly  point  out  his  nation,  and  pro- 
bably his  subjection  to  the  northern  primate;  the  unknown  Caer  Gurcoc,  third;  while 
Caer-Guorthigern  has  the  fourth  place.  A  Welch  MS.  of  Genealogies  of  the  same 
century,  viz.  the  tenth,  gives  the  list  of  twenty-eight  cities  nearly  as  it  is  in  Nennius, 
ap.  Cambrian  Quart.  Mag.  vol.  iv. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  Mr.  C.  Bertram  has  printed  in  his  Ricardus  Corinanis, 
that  of  ninety-two  British  towns  thirty-three  were  chief;  viz. :  the  two  free  cities  or 
municipia  of  Verulam  and  York,  nine  Roman  colonisu,  ten  governed  by  Latin  law 
under  the  Lex  Julia,  and  twelve  inferior  and  merely  tributary.  This  list  is  essentially 
different  in  names  from  the  Nennian  twenty-eight  and  the  five  others  making  the 
Petavian  thirty- three ;  and  is  fundamentally  distinct  in  its  basis,  being  civil,  not 
ecclesiastical.  Yet  it  exhibits  that  very  number  (thirty-three),  which  the  Petavian 
MS.  of  946  has  effected  by  adding  five  names  to  the  twenty-eight.  But  Mr.  Bertram 
surely  never  saw  that  MS.  What,  then,  shall  we  say?  That  he  found  the  number 
thirty-three  in  some  other  copy,  and  worked  upon  it?  I  regard  the  enumeration  as 
part  of  his  figments,  and  no  ancient  fragment ;  for  if  it  were  true  that  Eboracum  was 
also  governed  suojure,  Verulam  should  not  have  been  called  Caer  Municip,  nor  would 
his  surname  of  Municeps  have  explained  whence  the  tyrant  Gratianus  came.  Vide  Ric. 
Corin.  p.  36,  Havniaj  1757,  p-  1 1 1,  ap.  Johnstone  Ant.  Celto-Norman.  ibid.  1786.  (H.) 

No.  II.     Seepage  29. 

Lluyd,  in  his  Archsologia,  tit.  i.  p.  20,  col.  3,  supposes  Cpmrneac  to  be  a  corrup- 
tion of  6picneac,  pictus,  variegatus  ;  see  also  O'Brien,  Diet,  in  voce.  But  this  is  scarcely 

credible ; 


VI 

credible;  Duald  Mac  Firbis  gives  the  following  explanation  of  this  word:  Cpuirneuch 
(Pictus)  neac  DO  jjubao  cporu  no  oealba  anmann,  eun,  ajup  lar-jr,,  ap  a  eineac,  .1. 
ap  u  01516  :  a^ur-  5516  ni  uippe  arham  ace  ap  a  copp  uile.  5°'P1D  Serap  Cpuicnv£ 
.1.  picn,  DO  bpfcnaib  DO  cuipeuo  01510  peoil  DO  boo  7  oo  baoap  oppa  lonoap  jjcmoir- 
uarrhapa  ne  a  nariiam.  "  Cruithneach  (Pictus),  one  who  paints  the  cruths  (forms) 
of  beasts,  birds,  and  fishes  on  his  eineach  (face),  and  not  on  his  face  only,  but  on  his 
whole  body.  Ciesar  calls  the  Britons  Cruithnigh,  i.  e.  Picti,  because  they  used  to  stain 
their  faces  with  woad,  in  order  that  they  might  appear  terrible  to  their  enemies."- 
Genealoffies.  Marq.  of  Drogheda's  copy,  p.  1 62.  For  this  quotation  I  am  indebted  to 
Mr.  O'Donovan.  Cajsar's  words  are  :  "  Omnes  vero  se  Britanni  vitro  inficiunt,  quod 
cccruleum  efficit  colorem.  Atque  hoc  horridiori  sunt  in  pugna  aspectu  ;  capilloque 
sunt  premisso  atque  omni  parte  corporis  rasa,  prater  caput  et  labrum  superius." — De 
Jiello  Gall.  lib.  v.  c.  14.— ('/'.) 

No.  III.     See  page  29. 

Abonia Eubonia  or  Manaw  is  the  Isle  of  Man.    The  Romans  considered  it  as  having 

the  same  name  with  Anglesea,  viz.  Mon ;  and  probably  with  reason,  for  Mon  is  a  cow,  and 
that,  idea  is  preserved  in  the  islet  called  the  Calf  of  Man.  But  synonymes  required  a  mark 
of  distinction,  which  is  found  in  the  Monu-a-da  of  Ptolemy,  the  Mon-apia  of  Pliny,  the 
Eu-bonia  of  Xennius,  and  the  Eu-monia  or  Eu-mania  of  some  MSS.  of  Orosius,  as  well 
as  the  Men-avia  clearly  meant  in  those  which  have  Mevania.  The  word  united  to  the 
primary  one  is  probably  that  very  aw,  which  now  forms  Manaw,  the  Welch  for  Man, 
and  which  Beda  extended  to  both  in  his  Menavia;f  Insula?,  Hist.  i.  cap.  9.  It  meantg 
to  blow,  both  naturally,  and  in  the  metaphors  of  spirit,  inspiration,  afflatus,  &c.  This 
would  give  us  Monavia,  and  Aumonia  or  Eumonia  (all  as  one,  in  ancient  spelling),  and 
with  the  mutation,  Auvonia  or  Euvonia,  for  the  Mona  of  Winds.  In  an  ancient  MS. 
(Harl.  3859,  ap.  Cambr.  Qu.  Mag.  iv.  p.  23),  Man  is  called  Manau  Guodotin,  and  in 
a  supplement  of  Nennius  (Nenn.  cap.  66,  ex  MS.  Cotton,  ap.  Gale,  p.  116),  "  regio 
qua;  vocatur  Manaw  Guotadin."  Though  not  the  same  place,  it  is  perhaps  the  same 

word 

1  So  corrected  bv  Mr.  Sharon  Turner,    Hist.  tawel,  calm,    serene ;   tuwelu,  to  make  or  become 

Anglo-Sax,  i.  347,  ed.  iv.      But  in  his  text,  as  calm.      See  Edw.  Llwyd,    Comp.    Vocab.    Owen 

in  Orosius,  Mevania.  Diet.      Ta  is  superior,  as   Dr.  Owen   shews  by 

t  It  does  not  exist  as  a  verb  like  aia;  but  as  a  an  instance  (a  point  essential  to  the  legitimate 

root,   in  awel,  a  blast  of  wind  ;   awelu,  to  blow;  citation  of  his  Dictionary)  ;  and  ascendancy  over 

aieen,  inspiration,  &c.      And  (with  a  restrictive  wind,  or  breath,  makes  a  calm,  or  silence, 
sense  in  the   prefix  <a)  taw,    stillness,  silence; 


Vll 

word  as  Aneurin's  Gododin.  Rejecting  the  din  (meaning  an  enclosed  or  defensible 
place)  we  may  possibly  obtain  from  the  Guodo  or  Guota  the  JIo»«-0(S«,  or  Mona-oeda 
of  Ptolemy;  for  the  G  disappears  in  composition.  But  Mona  seems  to  be  the  founda- 
tion of  all  the  names. 

While  the  Romans  were  still  ruling  in  Britain,  Man  was  an  Irish  Island,  "  a=que 
(with  Hibernia)  a  Scotorum  gentibus  habitata." — Orosius,  i.  cap.  2.  But  whether  this 
had  been  always  so,  or  became  so  by  the  ruin  of  the  Britons,  no  man  now  can  say. 
The  first  occupation  of  Man  by  the  Irish  was  probably  not  later  than  A.  D.  254,  in 
which  year  there  is  a  tradition  that  King  Cormac  McArt  drove  some  of  the  rebellious 
Ultonians  into  that  island — Tigernach,  in  anno  254.  Nevertheless  it  may  have  been 
earlier. 

The  earliest  accounts  of  it,  however,  are  much  too  early,  belonging  to  the  fabulous 
epoch  and  legends  of  the  Tuatha  De  Danann.  The  following  statement  is  extracted  from 
the  ancient  MS.  Glossary  of  Cormac  M'Cuillenanh.  "  Manannan  Mac  Lir  was  a 
famous  merchant,  that  lived  in  the  island  of  Manann.  lie  was  the  best  navigator  that 
was  in  the  sea  in  the  west  of  the  world.  He  used  to  ascertain  by  heaven-study,  that  is, 
observation  of  the  heavens,  the  duration  of  calm  and  storm,  and  the  time  when  either 
of  these  two  periods  would  change.  "  Inde  Scoti  et  Britones  eum  dominum  maris  vo- 
caverunt,  inde  filium  maris  esse  dixerunt,  i.  e.  Mac  Lir;  et  de  nomine  Manannain  iusola 
Manainn  dicta  est'."  But  other  authorities  tell  us,  if  we  are  to  trust  O'Flaherty,  that 
the  name  of  this  merchant  was  Oirbsion  or  Orbsen,  son  of  Allad,  sou  of  Alathan, 
and  nephew  of  the  Daghda ;  and  that  he  was  called  Manannan,  because  of  his  inter- 
course with  the  Isle  of  ManJ.  Orbsen  Manaiman  was  slain  in  battle  by  Ullinn,  son 
of  Tadhg,  son  of  Nuada  the  Silver-handed,  at  the  place  therefore  called  Magh- 
Ullinn  or  Moycullin,  in  Galway.  Some  say,  that  Loch  Oirbsion  or  Orbsen  broke 
out  while  his  grave  was  being  dug.  See  the  Ogygia,  part  iii.  cap.  14,  p.  179;  and 
Keating.  That  the  Britons  knew  this  legend  of  Man,  may  be  supposed  from  the  sur- 
name M'Llyr,  son  of  the  water  or  of  the  sea.k  Bran  ap  Llyr  is  the  fabulous  father 

of 

h  This    author    died    in    90S,    according   to       Imp   TDan.inn    a   oepap   IDanannan    pip. 
O  Flaherty.  "  Or  he  was  called    Manannan  from  the   Isle  of 

'  Bodleian  MS.  Laud.  610,  fol.  83,  col.  a.,  1.        Manann." — (7'.) 

k  Cep  or  £eap,  the  sea,  (genitive  £ip)  is  still 

j  In  the  copy  of  Cormac's  Glossary  in  the  Li-       a  livin,,  worj  in  Irish (  T^     Jn  H    A   Bullock's 

brary  of  Trin.  Coll.  Dub.  (H.  2,  15)  there  is  the  History  of  the  Isle  of  Man,  the  tradition  of  Manan- 
following  note  on  the  above  quoted  passage,  in  ,,an  is  thus  spoken  of :  "Mananan  Mac  Lyr  (the 
the  hand-writing  of  Duald  Mac  Firbis  :  No  O  first  man  who  held  Man,  was  ruler  thereof,  and  af- 


Vlll 

of  the  elder  Caradoc,  and  Bran  ap  Llyr  Marini  that  of  Caradoc  Vreichbras.  The 
conversion  of  Man  to  Christianity  is  ascribed  to  one  Germarms,  an  emissary  of  St. 
Patrick,  who  was  succeeded  by  two  others  named  Conidrius  and  Romulus.  Jocelyn. 
Vita  Patric.  cap.  92,  152;  Vita  Quarta,  cap.  81. 

By  Orck  are  denoted  the  Orcades  or  Orkneys,  Orcania  of  Nennius.  Ore  in  Gaelic 
is  a  whale  or  other  large  fish ;  and  possibly  may  have  had  the  same  sense  in  ancient 
Gaulish  and  British ;  as  it  had  also  in  Latin,  "  orca  genus  marina?  bellua?  maximum 
dicitur"  (Pomp.  Festus),  whence  the  orca,  of  the  Italian  romantic  poets,  and  in  French 
orque. 

"  Then  shall  this  mount 

Of  Paradise  by  might  of  waves  be  moved 

Out  of  his  place,  push'd  by  the  horned  Hood, 

"With  all  his  verdure  spoiled  and  trees  adrift, 

Down  the  great  river  to  the  opening  gulf, 

And  there  take  root,  an  island  salt  and  bare, 

The  haunt  of  seals  and  ores  and  seamews'  dang." — Paradise  Lost,  xi.  829-37. 

Orcades,  or  Ore  Ynys,  the  islands  of  whales.  See  Armstrong's  Gaelic  Dictionary 
in  Ore.  Other  etymologies,  from  the  Teutonic,  may  be  seen  in  Wallace  and  Torfa;us ; 
but  they  appear  to  me  false  and  trivial.  The  Og*«s  "Ax^a  of  Ptolemy  was  Dunnet 
Head  in  Caithness,  over  against  the  islands. 

The  Irish  translator  has  omitted  a  good  passage  of  Marcus  and  Nennius:  "  So  in 
an  old  proverb  it  is  said,  when  speaking  of  judges  and  kings,  He  judged  Britain  icith 
the  three  islands." — (H.) 

No.  IV.     Seepage  42. 

The  first  man — The  two  first  paragraphs  of  Irish  history  are  borrowed,  with  cor- 
rections, from  Nennius,  cap.  6 ;  at  p.  50  of  Marcus.  The  Latin  has  Bartholomasus, 
Partholomams,  Partholomus,  and,  as  it  seems  acknowledged  that  Partholan's  name 
means  Bartholomew,  we  must  admire  the  credulity  which  could  believe  that  apostolic 
name  to  have  been  known  in  Ireland  311  years  after  the  flood.  Ogygia,  ii.  p.  65. 
The  same  remark  applies  to  Simon  Brec.  It  is  very  remarkable  that  Partholan,  first 
King  of  Ireland,  and  Brutus,  first  King  of  Britain,  were  both  abhorred  for  having 

killed 

ter  whom  the  land  was  named)  reigned  many  years;  p.  3.  The  natives  "pretend  he  was  son  to  a 
and  was  a  paynim.  He  kept  land  under  mists  by  king  of  Ulster,  and  brother  to  Fergus  II.  who 
his  necromancy.  If  he  dreaded  an  enemy,  he  restored  the  monarchical  government  of  Scot- 
would  of  one  man  cause  to  seem  one  hundred  ;  land,  422." Ibid. (.ff.) 

and  that  by  art  magic." — Old  Statute  Book,  cit. 


IX 

killed  father  and  mother.  See  Keating,  p.  25.  By  "  Nemech  quidam  filius  agnominis," 
the  copyists  probably  understood  son  of  his  own  cognominis  or  namesake.  The  tran- 
scriber of  Marcus  has  left  it  blank,  in  doubt  of  its  meaning;  and  he  did  wisely.  For 
the  original  reading  is  "  filius  Agnomain",  or  Agnamhain.  See  Ogygia,  ii.  p.  65  ;  Wood's 
Primitive  Inhabitants  of  Ireland,  p.  13;  Keating's  Genealogy,  p.  30.  The  same  name, 
Agnoman,  occurs  very  early  in  the  voyages  of  the  Gaidhelians.  Gildas  Coem.  ap. 
Ogygia,  ii.  p.  67.  Our  translator  corrects  the  Historia,  which  had  represented  Nemed 
himself  as  sailing  away  again;  whereas  it  was  his  posterity,  after  a  sojourn  of  216 
years — (H.) 

No.  V.     See  page  44. 

Viri  Buttorum,  S(C — The  Firbolg,  Firdomnan,  and  Firgalian,  are  inserted  by 
the  translator.  The  name  Firbolg  is  also  a  general  one,  and  comprehensive  of  all  the 
three.  Mr.  O'Flaherty  does  not  doubt  but  they  were  colonies  from  Great  Britain,  of 
the  BelgiE,  Damnonii,  and  another  tribe.  Ogygia,  i.  pp.  14,  15;  Keating,  p.  39.  The 
account  of  the  Tuatha  De  Danann  is  also  inserted.  They  are  said  to  have  come  from 
the  northern  parts  of  Europe,  and  their  name  may  be  rendered  The.  Tribe  of  Gods  from 
Denmark.  Danann  for  Dania,  as  Manann  for  Mannia.  The  first  mention  of  the  Dani 

is  in  Servius,  "  Dante undo  Dani  dicti,"  in  ^Eneid.  viii.  728;  and  the  second, 

in  Venantius  Fortunatus  de  Lupo  Duce,  vi.  7,  49: 

"  Quam  tibi  sis  firmus  cum  prosperitate  superna, 
Saxonis  et  Dani  gens  cito  victa  probat." 

The  three  tribes  of  Tuatha  De  Danann  were  descended  from  the  three  sons  of  Danann, 
called  Gods  (and  esteemed  such)  for  their  skill  in  magic ;  whence  perhaps  the  phrase 
Plebes  Deorum.  They  first  came  (it  is  fabled)  into  the  north  of  Britain,  where 
they  inhabited  places  called  Dobar  and  Ir-dobar  (quere  Tir?)  and  whence  they  re- 
moved to  the  north  of  Ireland ;  and  their  title  of  De  has  been  accounted  for  by  the 
name  of  the  River  Dee.  O'Flaherty,  Ogygia,  i.  p.  12.  But  their  story  shews,  that  they 
were  a  race  endowed  with  such  arts  and  powers,  as  might  obtain  them  credit  for  a 
divine  origin.  And  there  is  no  reason  for  supposing  that  Dobar  was  near  the  River 
Dee.  The  interpretation  of  the  name  of  this  colony  is  quite  independent  of  the  ques- 
tion of  its  having  ever  existed ;  of  which  there  is  neither  proof,  nor  much  probability. 
Their  legend  represents  them  to  have  spoken  a  German,  not  a  British,  dialect,  which 
is  accordant  to  the  notion  of  their  being  Danes,  but  is  by  no  means  accordant  to  the 
catalogue  of  their  names ;  and  so  far  their  story  belies  itself.  The  letters  of  which 
the  invention  is  ascribed  to  the  Danannian  Ogma,  brother  of  the  Daghda,  are  not  that 
modification  of  the  Latin  alphabet  used  in  Irish  and  Anglo-Saxon  writings,  but  the 
IRISH  ARCH.  soc.  NO.  1 6.  b  cyphers 


cyphers  called  ogham ;  the  superior  antiquity  of  which  seems  to  me  to  involve  this 
difficulty,  that  they  almost  imply  and  presuppose  the  existence  of  ordinary  alphabetic 
writing. — •(//.) 

No.  VI.     See  paye  54. 

Out  of  the  kingdom  of  Scythia,  fyc. — There  is  no  probability,  and  a  want  of  distinct 
testimony,  even  legendary,  that  Ireland  ever  received  any  considerable  body  of  set- 
tlers, but  direct  from  Britain.  Ireland,  in  effect,  received  but  three  classes  of  colonists. 
For  the  Neinedians  were  Bartholomfeans,  and  the  Firbolg  and  Tuatha  De  Danann 
were  both  Neinedians.  Besides  this  class  there  were  the  Gaidhil  or  Scoti,  into 
which  prevalent  colony  the  whole  nation  resolved  itself;  and  thirdly,  the  Cruithnich 
or  Pictish  settlement.  But  the  Firbolg  and  Danann  were  both  direct  from  Britain, 
the  former  manifestly,  and  the  latter  avowedly.  And  the  Scots,  after  various  pere- 
grinations, went  from  Pictland  or  Albany  in  North  Britain  to  Spain,  and  thence 
over  to  Ireland.  The  whole  mention  of  Spain  in  that  legend  is  etymological,  and 
was  meant  to  unite  the  two  names,  so  slightly  dissimilar,  and  sometimes  (as  Mr. 
O'Flaherty  observes)  confounded,  of  Iberus  and  Ibernus  ;  as  the  mention  of  Scythia 
is  also  an  etymologism  for  Scot.  The  three  (or  rather  two)  classes  of  colonists  seem 
to  have  been  the  South  Britons,  of  Belgic  origin ;  the  North  Britons,  of  Celtic  origin ; 
and  certain  Britons,  who  must  have  belonged  either  to  the  one  or  other  division, 
and  were  distinguished  by  retaining  in  Ireland  their  custom  of  staining  the  skin,  at  a 
time  when  no  others  did. 

The  name  Scoti  is  identified  by  Nennius  and  by  Irish  bardic  antiquaries  with 
Sc.ythas,  and  that  verbal  resemblance  is  the  sole  foundation  of  their  travels  from 
Scythia.  No  Roman,  meaning  to  say  Scytha,  could  express  it  Scotus;  and  no  savage 
of  Hibernia  could  think  of  applying  to  himself  the  eastern  and  generic  title  of  Scythian. 
Words  are  almost  a  waste  on  such  topics.  The  name  of  Scoti  is  said  to  be  first  used 
by  Porphyry,  about  A.  D.  277).  But  this  must  be  doubtful  in  the  extreme;  as 
St.  Jeromek,  quoting  Porphyry,  would  put  "  Scotica;  gentes"  according  to  his  own 
custom  and  that  of  his  day,  where  Porphyry  had  put  TO.  T&V  'levi^at  'ifan.  If  so,  Am- 
inianus  will  be  the  earliest  who  names  them,  at  the  close  of  the  fourth  century. 
Before  these  authors  no  Greek  or  Roman  had  heard  of  a  Scot ;  and  the  name  Scot  was 
very  probably  unknown  in  Hibernia.  If  it  be  the  same  as  scuite,  a  wanderer  or  rover, 
it,  is  unintentionally  explained  by  Ammianus  in  his  "  Scoti  per  diversa  vagantes." 
Its  origin  should  date  from  the  time  when  they  devoted  themselves  to  piracy ;  from 

after 

)  That  is  the    year  to  which    Schoell,   in  his       nourishing. 
Table  Chronologique,  gives  Porphyry's  name,  as  k  Epist.  ad  Ctesiphontem. 


XI 

after  which  time,  as  Ammianus  is  the  first  ascertained  authority,  its  known  origin 
does  in  point  of  fact  date.  And  we  may  suppose  that  it  was  not  prevalent,  until 
the  sea-kings  of  Erin  became  troublesome  to  the  neighbouring  shores,  which  was 
scarcely  in  the  third  century,  or  perhaps  after  the  middle  of  it,  when  Cormac  Mac  Art 
obtained  celebrity  in  various  ways.  Achy  Mogmedon,  father  of  Niall  the  Great,  seems 
first  to  have  become  formidable  in  that  shape.  This  supposition  squares  admirably 
with  the  observation  in  Ogygia  iii.  72,  that  although  the  Irish  called  their  Gaidhelian 
people  Scots,  no  such  territorial  epithet  as  Scotia  or  Scotland  was  known  in  their 
language ;  for  they  had  not  that  name  in  regard  of  their  land,  but  of  renouncing  the 
land,  and  making  their  home  upon  the  deep,  and  among  the  creeks  and  coves  of 
every  defenceless  shore.  The  ancient  word  scud,  a  boat  or  ship,  plural,  scuid,  hath 
a  close  agreement  with  scuite,  a  wanderer,  and  Scut,  a  Scot ;  and  it  may  be  doubted, 
whether  this  obsolete  Gaelic  word  did  not  primarily  signify  roving  in  coracles.  Sallee 
existed  before  there  were  Sallee  rovers;  and  so  did  Ireland,  long  before  she  had  her 
scots  or  rovers.  Bardic  fable  so  far  says  true,  that  it  was  the  latest  denomination 
of  the  pagan  kings  of  Erin ;  and  the  protracted  rovings  or  wanderings  of  Eibhear  Scot 
and  his  family  through  almost  all  lands  and  seas  seem  like  a  vast  romantic  gloss  upon 
the  appellation.  For  they  were,  indeed,  a  race  of  Errones,  and  that  is  the  charac- 
teristic feature  of  their  story — (77.) 

No.  VII.     See  page  60. 

Seeds  of  battle. — Csesar  speaks  of  the  spikes  which  Cassibellanus  placed  in  the 
Thames,  as  large  stakes,  not  caltrops  :  "  ripa  autem  erat  acutis  sudibus  prsefixis  mu- 
nita,  ejusdemque  generis  sub  aqua  defixa;  sudes  flumine  tegebantur,"  (De  Bello 
Gall.  v.  18.)  ;  and  Bede  says,  that  these  stakes  remained  to  his  time,  "  quarum  ves- 
tigia sudiuni  ibidem  usque  hodie  visuntur,  et  videtur  inspectantibus  quod  singula? 
earum  ad  modum  humani  femoris  grossa?,  et  circumfusas  plumbo  immobiliter  erant 
in  profundum  fluminis  infixa;.'' — Hist.  Eccl.  i.  2.  But  we  can  hardly  suppose  such 
solid  stakes  to  have  been  described  under  the  name  of  "  semen  bellicosum." 

I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Eugene  Curry  for  the  following  illustrations  of  the  words 
^pana  cacha,  which  I  have  translated  seeds  of  battle. 

In  a  MS.  glossary  on  paper,  written  in  the  seventeenth  century,  and  now  preserved 
in  the  Library  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin  (H.  2.  15.  p.  126,)  the  words  are  thus 
explained : 

£)pain  cara  .1.  beapa,   uc  epc,  "pi          GRAIN   CATHA,   i.  e.  spikes;  as  "SiL 
cura  goipc  cuiprep  pocepcep  ppi  bela-      CATHA  GOIRT  [seeds  of  battle-field]  which 

b  2  are 


Xll 

ra  cpici  aca  eiplmoe,"  .1.  beapa  no  ni  are  put  or  set  in  the  entrance  fords  of 
cuipchep  amcnl  pil  i  n-gopc  i  m-belaib  an  unfortified1  country:"  i.e.  spikes  or 
uacaib  na  cpice.  Ipe  pin  uil  ann  .1.  in  things  that  are  sown  like  seed  in  a  field, 
jpan  caca.  in  the  solitary  passes  of  the  country. 

This  is  what  is  meant  by  GRAN  CATHA 

[seeds  of  battle]. 

The  words  in  inverted  commas  are  evidently  quoted  from  some  more  ancient  tract 
or  glossary. 

In  the  Felire  Beg,  or  little  Festilogium,  an  ancient  Calendar,  preserved  in  the 
library  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  in  a  MS.  which  is  at  least  as  old  as  the  four- 
teenth century,  the  following  is  given  (p.  23)  as  the  first  of  three  great  qualifications 
ot'a  distinguished  champion: 

Cpeioi    apa    neatnceanacap    luech ;  Three  things   that  constitute  a  cham- 

curhclep  cu  poceapouib,   .1.  5liuin  cu~      pw>n:  Battle  skill  with  subordinate  arts, 
chu,  cu  ceapccub  poiche  in  jae  bul^a.       viz.  GRAIN  CATHA,   with  the  skilful  set- 
ting the  GAE  BULGA  [belly  spear]. 

The  gae  bulga,  or  belly  spear,  was  a  short  spear  which  was  used  by  the  combatant 
to  strike  from  beneath,  and  pierce  the  belly  of  his  opponent  under  his  shield.  In  the 
curious  ancient  romance  called  Tain  bo  Cuailgne,  or  "The  Plunder  of  the  Cuailgnian 
Cows,"  the  hero  Cuchulann,  the  champion  of  Ulster,  is  introduced  making  use  of 
the  gae  bulga,  in  his  combat  with  Ferdiadh,  the  champion  of  Connaught,  at  Ath- 
Firdiadh,  the  ford  of  Firdiadh  (so  called  from  the  name  of  the  hero),  now  Ardee.  It 
appears  from  this  narrative  that  the  weapon  was  thrown  from  the  foot,  and  the  art 
seems  to  have  consisted  in  keeping  the  adversary  busy  in  protecting  his  head  and 
body,  whilst  the  gae  bulga  was  suddenly  seized  between  the  toes,  and  struck  under  his 
shield  into  his  belly.  It  is  described  as  a  barbed  dart,  which  after  entering  the  body 
threw  out  thirty  blades  that  sprang  loose  and  inflicted  an  incurable  and  deadly  wound 
within. 

It,  is  not  necessary  to  our  present  purpose  to  enter  into  any  more  particular  ac- 
count of  this  probably  fabulous  weapon,  or  to  collect  together  the  notices  of  it  which 
occur  in  Irish  MSS.  It  must  suffice  to  observe  that  both  the^ae  bulga,  or  belly-spear, 
and  the  grain  calha,  or  battle  seed,  seem  to  have  been  used  chiefly,  if  not  always,  in 
lords  of  rivers,  the  water  serving  to  conceal  the  weapon,  or  the  caltrops,  from  the 

enemy. 

'Unfortified — "©iplm.i.eipinnil  no  eoainjfn.    Eislinu, i.e.  unfortified  orun-fast." — O'Clerj-'s 
Glossary. 


Xlll 

enemy.  In  the  case  of  the  battle,  or  rather  the  single  combat,  at  the  ford  of  Ardee 
(described  in  the  romance  of  the  Tain  bo  Cuailgne),  the  attendant  or  esquire  of  Cuchu- 
lann  is  represented  as  sending  the  gae  bulga  to  his  master  through  the  water,  floated 
probably  by  some  contrivance  so  as  to  escape  the  notice  of  the  enemy ;  and  it  was  then 
caught  by  Cuchulann  between  his  toes,  under  the  water,  and  driven  instantly  into 
the  belly  of  his  assailant — (T.) 

No.  VIII.     Seepage  63. 

The  King  was  baptized. — The  famous  legend  of  King  Lucius  (from  Nennius,  cap.  iN) 
has  its  earliest  voucher  in  Beda;  whose  accounts  of  its  date  are  both  erroneous  and 
and  discrepant™.  Annalists  have  varied  from  138  to  199  in  assigning  its  epoch.  But 
that  would  not  affect  the  fact  itself,  were  it  otherwise  authentic.  There  wi-iv 
then  in  Caledonia  and  in  Cornwall,  if  not  elsewhere,  some  independent  princes  or 
chieftains,  of  whom  this  Lucius  may  have  been  one.  But  it  has  much  the  appear- 
ance of  a  fable,  forming  part  of  the  romance  of  the  kings  of  Britain.  Mr.  Carte  has 
forcibly  observed,  that  Gildas's  design  led  him  to  speak  of  it,  and  yet  he  doth  not 
mention  so  much  as  the  name  of  Lucius,  i.  p.  133.  The  real  question  is,  whether 
Beda  took  his  brief  statement  out  of  Roman  or  ecclesiastical  history,  or  from  a  Celtic 
legend.  Such  a  legend  might  well  grow  out  of  a  statement,  that  Christianity  was 
planted  in  Britain  "Marco  Aurelio  et  Lucio  regnantibus ;"  for  the  Emperor  Lucius 
(as  L.  Verus11  was  commonly  termed)  figures  in  the  inconsistent  dates  of  this  trans- 
action; both  of  which  are  in  his  life,  and  intended  to  be  in  his  reign;  and  the  latter 
is  in  his  reign.  "  M.  Antoninus  Verus  cum  fratre  Aur.  Lucio  Commodo  ....  quorum 
temporibus  ....  misit  ....  Lucius  Brittannorum  rex,"  &c.  Ilenr.  Hunt,  i,  p.  304. 

Nothing  can  be  more  confused  than  the  accounts  given  of  this  name.  For  in  British 
it  is  written  Lies  (whether  in  speaking  of  this  man,  or  of  any  other  Lucius0),  meaning 
gain  or  profit;  of  which  Lucius  is  no  translation,  though  it  may  very  remotely  imitate 

the 

'""Anno  ab  incarn.    Domini  centesimo  quin-  pricsul    factus   15   annos  ecelesiam   gloriosissime 

quagesimo  sexto   Marcus  Antoninus   Verus,   de-  rexit,  cui  litteras  rex  Britannias  Lucius  mittens. " 

cimus  quartus  ab  Augusto,  regnum  cum  Aurelio  &c. — Epitome,   p.  278.       Here  we  get  into  tlie 

Commodo  fratre    suscepit ;    quorum  temporibus  reign  of  the  emperors,   but  are    still   ten    years 

cum  Eleutherius  vir  sanctus  pontificatui  Uomanse  short  of  the  pontificate  of  Eleutherius. 

ecclesiae  praesset,  misit  ad  eum  Lucius  Britan-  "Julius    Capitolinus,  pp.  179,  183-4;   Lugcl. 

norum  rex  epistolam,"  &c Hist.  i.  c.  4.      Eleu-  Bat.  1661  ;   Pronto  Epist.  ad  Verum,  lib.  ii.  ep. 

therius   was    not   Pope    until   177,   when   Verus  1  ;   Dion   Cassius,    pp.    1177-8;    Aur.   Viet,    de 

was   dead  ;    and    their    accession    was   in    161.  Csesaribus,  cap.  16. 

"Anno  ab   incarn.  D.   167,  Eleutherius   Romae  »  Vide  Triad  vi.  series  2;   Brut,  p.  •"<">!,  &c. 


XIV 


the  sound.  But  they  surname  him  Lleuver,  i.  e.  bright  or  luminous,  which  is  evi- 
dently meant  to  express  the  etymon  of  Lucius.  Thus  inconsistent  is  fiction.  Some 
copies  of  Nennins  have  these  words :  "  Lucius  agnomine  Lever  Maur,  id  est,  Magni 
Splendoris,  propter  fidem  qua;  in  ejus  tempore  venit."  The  author  of  the  CambreisP 
gave  the  same  rationale  of  the  name  Lucius, 


" —  Coilo  succedit  Lucius,  orto 

Lucifero  prtelucidior,  nam  lucet  in  ejus 
Tempore  vera  fides." 

It  is  furthermore  pretended  that  his  real  name  was  Lleirwg ;  Lleuver  Mawr  (and 
consequently  Lucius)  being  merely  a  title  of  honour.  Neither  in  the  Liber  Land- 
avensis,  nor  in  Mr.  J.  Williams's  Eccles.  Antiq.  of  the  Cymry,  pp.  66-7,  nor 
elsewhere,  can  I  discover  any  thing  that  deserves  to  be  called  an  historical  corrobora- 
tion  of  Beda.  The  Welch  hagiography  applicable  to  this  name  is  vain  and  fictitious. 
The  family  of  Bran  ap  Llyr  is  described  as  one  of  the  holy  or  saintly  families  of  Bri- 
tainq ;  and  it  is  pretended  he  was  the  father  of  Caractacus,  who,  being  taken  prisoner 
with  his  son,  learned  Christianity  at  Kome.  But  it  is  well  known,  that  Caractacus 
was  one  of  the  sons  of  Cynobeline,  whose  death  preceded  the  war  between  his  children 
and  the  Romans.  Dion  Cassius  Ix.  cap.  20.  This  Bran  ap  Llyr  was  a  sorcerer, 
whose  whole  legend  is  magic.  See  the  Mabinogi  of  Branwen.  His  grandson,  son  of 
Caractacus,  is  said  to  have  been  St.  Cyllin ;  but  it  is  tolerably  certain,  that  Caractacus 
had  no  son  whom  the  Romans  took.  Cyllin  is  fancifully  supposed  (see  Taylor's 
Calmet.  v.  p.  259;  Triad  xlii.  series  ir)  to  have  been  Linus,  first  Bishop  of  Rome  after 
St.  Peter.  It  is  not  very  likely,  that  Linus  should  be  written  for  Cyllinus;  which 
must  either  change  the  quantity,  or  reject  the  accented  syllable.  Nor  is  it  likely  that 
the  name  Linus,  as  old  as  mythology5  itself,  and  common  at  Rome,  where  Martial 
ridicules1  at  least  two  persons  of  that  name,  should  be  the  mutilated  name  of  a 
British  Celt.  Whether  a  converted  barbarian,  elegantly  tattoed  with  woad,  is 
likely  to  have  been  elected  to  the  apostolical  chair  of  St.  Peter,  forms  another  ques- 
tion, 

i'  Pseudo-Gildas  in  Cambreide,  ap.  Ussher.  Linus  Brychan  of  Brecknock."     Here  the  heads 

*  Triad  xviii.     This  absurd  production  is  fullof  of  the  three  Holy  Families   (see  series  3,  Triad 

ignorance,  even  of  that  little  which  we  do  know.  xviii.)  each   receive  the    name  Linus,    with  its 

Boadicea  is  confounded  with  Cartismandua.  Latin  termination ! 

r  The  general  idea  was,  no  doubt,  in  the  mind  «  Orphei  Calliopeia,  Lino  formosus  Apollo. 

of  the  writer  of  this   Triad,  which  runs   thus:  «  Epigr.   i.    76,   ii.  38,  54,  iv.  66,  v.  12,  vii. 

"  Three    Saints,   Linus   of  the   Me  of  Britain,  94,  xi.  2H,  xii.  49. 

Linus  Bran  ap  Llyr,  Linus  Cynedda  \Vledig,  and 


XV 

tion,  of  which  the  affirmative  decision  holds  out  fair  hopes  of  Lambeth  to  our  New 
Zealand  neophytes.  But  we  may  infer,  that  there  was  never  such  a  man  as  this 
Cylliu.  That  name  is  formed  of  cy  and  ttin,  and  means  "  united  by  a  chord  or  string," 
or  else  "  being  of  a  common  lineage."  A/»«»  in  Greek  is  flax  ;  and  thence,  a  chord  or 
string.  Linum  in  Latin  keeps  both  those  meanings;  and  linea  has  the  further 
meaning  of  series  or  lineage.  The  British  and  Gaelic  llin  have  all  the  three  meanings  ; 
which  circumstance  leaves  reasonable  inference,  that  it  is  one  of  the  words  introduced 
i'rom  the  Latin.  Neither  does  the  flax  culture  belong  to  the  savage  state;  peltries 
clothe  the  savage,  the  nomadic  tribes  proceed  to  the  use  of  woollens,  and  flax  and 
hemp  come  last.  There  probably  existed  no  such  name  as  Cy-llin  for  Caractacus  to 
affix  to  his  son  ;  and  it  was  invented  long  after  the  supremacy  of  the  Romans  had  been 
established,  and  perhaps  after  its  subversion. 

Lleirwg  Lleuver  Mawr  was  grandson  of  Cyllin,  and  son  of  Coel;  whom,  however, 
the  Chronicle  of  Kings  makes  son  of  Meiric,  not  of  Cyllin.  Coel  (called  a  bard  in 
Triad  xci.)  reigned  over  Britain,  paying  tribute  to  Claudius;  and  his  son  Lies  suc- 
ceeded him,  whom  others  call  Lleirwg  Lleuver,  and  the  Latin  writers  Lucius.  This 
is  all  a  romance.  The  house  of  Cynobeline  (if  there  was  any  remnant  of  it)  did  not 
recover  its  authority  over  Britain,  as  tributaries  or  otherwise;  but  the  country  was 
gradually  reduced  into  a  Roman  province.  As  there  was  no  Cyllin,  there  probably 
was,  for  similar  reasons,  no  Coel  ;  and  the  true  Coels  are  of  much  later  date.  For  the 
Welch  word  coel  (not  in  Gaelic),  an  omen  or  presage,  charm  or  enchantment,  or  other 
object  of  superstitious  veneration,  seems  to  be  formed  from  the  Latin  word  coihtm  or 
ccelum,  what  is  hollow  or  concave,  and,  in  the  second  intention,  heaven.  De  coelo 
servare,  is  to  observe  omens  and  auguries  ;  divinare  is  to  observe  things  divine. 

It  is  a  reasonable  supposition,  that  the  one  historical  notice  of  Lucius,  Bi-da's, 
given  in  a  form  discreditable  to  the  learning  of  its  venerable  author,  is  not  really 
historical;  and  that  the  tale  was  made  up  in  Britain  by  somebody,  who  took  the 
imperial  brothers  Marcus  and  Lucius  to  be  the  Roman  emperor  and  the  British 


No.  IX.     See  page  66. 

Geoffrey  of  Monmouth  only  miscalls  Maximus  by  the  name  of  Maximian  ;  but  the 
Historia  Britonum  has  made  two  emperors,  Maximus  and  Maximian,  out  of  that  one 
man. 

The  remarkable  assertion,  that  Consuls  instead  of  Caesars  now  began  to  reign,  can 
only  be  explained  as  of  Tyranni  in  lieu  of  more  regular  emperors.  For  such  were 
Maximus  himself,  Marcus,  Gratianus  Municeps,  and  Constantine  III.,  who  all  assumed 
the  tyrannic  purple  in  Britain.  That  accounts  for  the  idea  of  a  derogation  ;  but  the 

author 


XVI 

author  of  the  Historia,  consistently  with  his  general  statement,  proceeds  to  speak  of 
Valentinian  and  Theodosius  as  consuls. 

The  epoch  of  Maximus  was  very  famous  in  the  legends  of  Britain.  In  them  he  is 
called  Maxen  or  Maxim  Wledig,  i.  e.  the  sovereign  of  the  land.  Gwledig  is  litterally  ter- 
renus,  from  gwlad,  terra;  and  the  title  claims  him  for  a  native,  as  well  as  a  Roman, 
sovereign.  The  Chronicle  of  the  Kings  describes  him  as  being  nephew  to  Helen, 
mother  of  Constantine,  and  son  to  her  brother  Llewelyn,  and  as  being  husband  to 
another  Helen,  daughter  of  Eudav,  a  potent  British  chieftain.  See  Galfrid.  v.  cap.  8-9 ; 
Roberta's  Tysilio,  p.  98.  Thus  he  was  a  Briton,  though  a  senator  of  Rome.  He  is 
indebted  for  these  legends  to  the  important  events  of  his  reign.  For  then  it  was, 
that  the  foundations  of  Armorican  Britanny  were  laid  by  the  Celtic  forces  who  ac- 
companied him,  on  his  expedition  to  Gaul,  under  the  command  (as  a  general  tradition 
saith)  of  one  Conan  of  Meriadawg  in  Denbigh.  Then  also  the  affair  of  the  I  i,oco 
virgins  occurred;  of  which  the  death  of  some  young  women,  going  to  join  the 
Armorican  colon//  (Colonia),  seems  to  have  been  the  truth. 

There  is  a  curious  tale  or  mabinogi  called  Breuddwyd  Maxen,  the  Dream  of 
Maximus.  He  was  emperor  of  Rome,  the  handsomest  and  wisest  that  ever  reigned. 
Under  him  were  thirty-two  crowned  kings,  with  whom  he  went  a  hunting.  Being 
heated,  he  fell  asleep;  while  they  raised  their  shields  for  a  fence  around  him,  and  a 
orolden  shield  over  his  head.  He  dreamt  that  he  visited  a  country,  which  he  traversed, 
and  reached  a  rough  and  barren  district,  beyond  which  he  found  a  fine  city,  and  in  it 
a  hall  or  palace  of  great  splendour;  and  in  the  hall  were  two  bay-haired  youths, 
playing  chess  on  a  chess-board  of  silver,  with  chessmen  of  gold.  They  were  dressed 
in  black,  with  frontlets  of  red  gold  on  their  hair,  and  precious  stones  therein.  At  the 
toot  of  the  column  supporting  the  hall  sat  a  gray-haired  man  on  an  ivory  throne,  with 
golden  bracelets,  chain,  and  frontlet,  and  with  a  golden  chess-board  on  his  breast, 
and  in  his  hand  a  golden  wand  and  a  steel  saw;  and  he  was  carving  chessmen.  A 
maiden  sat  opposite  to  him  on  a  golden  chair,  arrayed  in  white  silk  and  jewels. 
Maximus  sat  down  in  the  chair  beside  her,  and  threw  his  arms  round  her  neck ;  and, 
at  that  moment  of  his  dream,  awoke.  He  sent  ambassadors  in  all  directions  in  quest 
of  her.  And,  at  last,  three  of  them  found  out  the  country,  which  was  Britain,  and 
the  rough  district,  which  was  Snowdon,  and  the  city,  which  was  Aber  Sain  in  Arvon ; 
where  they  found  the  youths  playing  chess,  the  old  man  making  chess-men,  and  the 
maiden  in  the  chair  of  gold.  They  opened  to  her  the  suit  of  Maxen,  and  she  said, 
that  if  the  emperor  loved  her,  he  must  come  for  her.  So  he  came,  and  conquered 
the  island,  and  went  to  Aber  Sain,  where  he  found  Conan,  and  Adeon,  sons  of  Eudav, 
playing  at  chess,  and  Eudav  son  of  Caradoc  in  the  ivory  throne,  making  chess-men, 

and 


and  his  daughter  Helen  seated.  And  he  threw  his  arms  round  her  neck.  And  that, 
night  they  slept  together.  Next  morning  he  asked  her  to  name  her  dower,  and  she 
demanded  Britannia  from  the  British  to  the  Irish  sea,  and  the  three  adjacent  islands 
[see  above,  cap.  iii.],  to  hold  under  him ;  and  three  cities  to  be  built  for  her,  which 
were  Caer  yn  Arvon,  Caer  Llion,  and  Caer  Vyrddin.  Helen  caused  roads  to  be  made 
across  the  island  from  each  city,  and  they  were  called  the  Roads  of  Helen  the  Armipo- 
tent.  Maxen  stayed  seven  years  in  Britain,  and  thereby  (by  Roman  law)  he  forfeited 
the  crown  imperial;  and  they  chose  another  emperor  in  his  place.  But  he  went 
and  besieged  Rome,  and  took  it  by  the  valour  of  Conan  and  Adeon  and  their  Britons. 
Then  Maxen  gave  them  his  army,  to  conquer  territories;  and  they  conquered  and 
ravaged  many  provinces.  But  Conan  would  not  return  to  his  native  country,  and 
remained  in  Britanny,  which  is  called  Llydau  Brytaen ;  and,  since  many  flocked  over 
thither  from  Britain,  the  British  language  yet  remains  there." — See  the  Greal  sev 
Cynnulliad  o  Orchestion,  &c.  pp.  289-297,  London,  1805.  Maximus  is  said  to  have 
had  three  sons,  Cystennin  or  Constantine,  Peblic  or  Publicus,  and  Owain  or  Eugenius, 
surnamed  Minddu  or  the  Blacklipped — Y  Greal,  &c.  p.  18.  This  Owain  ap  Maxen 
Wledig  is  reported  to  have  been  the  first  of  those  British  kings  who,  after  the  resigna- 
tion of  the  island  byHonorius,  ruled  it  independently  of  the  Roman  or  Caasarean  system. 
See  Triads,  xxi.  xxxiv.  xli.  liii.  This  name  and  tradition  comes  out  of  Bardism ; 
and  was  not  accepted  by  that  other  school  of  authors  who  framed  the  Trojan  dynasty 
of  kings.  King  Owain,  son  of  Maximus,  has  been  termed  a  saint ;  but  he  seems  to 
have  been  more  of  a  magician.  He  buried  the  head  of  Bran  ap  Llyr  in  the  Tower 
Hill  of  London,  for  a  talisman  of  defence  to  this  island;  but  king  Arthur  indiscreetly 
revealed  it.  He  was  himself  buried,  both  his  head  and  his  body,  at  Nanhwynyn,  in 
the  Forest  of  the  Faraon  (demons  or  spirits),  and  the  said  Owain  slew  Eurnach 
Gawr,  and  in  the  self-same  forest  Eurnach  slew  him — Greal,  p.  18.  The  mabinogi 
or  legend  of  this  obscure  business  seems  not  to  be  extant. — (II) 

No.  X.     See  page  67. 

From  the  place,  SfC. — This  curious  sentence  on  the  limits  of  Britanny  has  been,  in 
the  indication  of  the  points  of  the  compass,  either  taken  from  a  better  MS.  than  tin- 
printed  copies,  or  more  clearly  enounced  by  the  translator.  The  author  describes 
Britanny  as  a  triangle  with  its  vertex  due  W.,  and  the  angles  of  its  base  N.  E.  and 
S.  E.  The  Cruc  Ochideut  or  Tumulus  Occidentalis  is  beyond  doubt  (as  Bertram  had 
surmised)  the  precipitous  rock  of  Ushant,  notoriously  the  due  W.  extremity  of 
Britanny.  Its  modern  name,  Ouessant,  though  ultimately  derived  from  Uxantus, 
sounds  and  perhaps  is  intended  to  sound  like  Ouest,  West. 

IRISH  AKCH.  SOC.   1 6.  C  The 


XV111 

The  N.  E.  angle  is  the  stagnum,  or  bay  of  the  sea,  above  (that  is,  north  of)  the 
Mons  Jovis.  The  super  verticem  Montis  for  super  Montem  was  either  a  mistake  of 
Marcus  himself,  or  of  all  his  transcribers.  The  Mons  Jovis  is  an  extraordinary  rock 
in  the  Avranchin,  otherwise  called  Mons  Sancti  Michaelis  in  Periculo  Maris,  in  French 
le  Mont  Jou.  See  Blondcl,  Notice  du  Mont  St.  Michel,  p.  10.  Avranches,  1816. 
There  are  two  rocks;  the  Tumbelenia,  or  Tombelaine,  explained  by  some  Tumba 
Helena;,  but  more  correctly  Tumba  Beleni,  i.  e.  Hill  of  Belenus,  the  Celtic  sun-god ; 
and  the  loftier  one,  called  simply  Tumba,  as  well  as  Mons  Jovis.  The  monastery  or 
hermitage  there  was  called  Monasterium  ad  Duas  Tumbas  in  Periculo  Maris.  Blondel, 
ibid.  pp.  11-119.  The  Mont  Jou  received  its  appellation  of  Mont  Saint  Michel,  from 
an  apparition  of  St.  Michael  Archangel,  which  was  seen  there  in  A.D.  708.  See  Gallia 
Christiana,  xi.  p.  472;  Ogee  Diet,  de  la  Bretagne,  i.  p.  98,  Nantes,  1778.  In  that 
year  an  inroad  of  the  sea  swept  away,  and  changed  in  arena?  suceformam,  the  forest  in 
which  the  mount  used  to  stand,  ami  made  it  an  island  at  high  water;  and  St.  Aubert, 
Bishop  of  Avranches,  built  a  chapel  there  by  command  of  the  Archangel,  which  was 
dedicated  in  709.  See  Blondel,  ibiil.  p.  14;  Gallia  Christ,  ibid.  ApparitioS.  Michael, 
ap.  Mabillon,  A.  SS.  Ben.  sa>c.  3.  part  i.  p.  86.  The  Avranchin  continued  to  be  a 
part  of  the  County  of  Britanny  until  the  year  936,  in  which  Alan  IV.  is  said  to  have 
made  over  that  district  to  William  Long-Sword,  Duke  of  Normandy ;  and  to  that 
province  it  hath  ever  since  appertained.  Recherches  sur  la  Bretagne  per  Felix  De- 
laporte,  i.  p.  95-6,  Kennes,  1819.  Therefore  Dom  Mabillon  antedates  the  Apparitio 
Sancti  Michaelis,  when  he  states  that  narrative  to  have  been  written  "  ante  Sfficulum 
decimum,"  for  its  author  does  not  consider  the  Mount  to  be  in  Britanny. 

It  remains  for  us  to  find  the  S.  E.  angle  of  Britanny  at  Cantguic".  The  Armorican 
meaning  of  the  words  cant guic  is  the  hundred  villages,  centum  vici.  And  I  have  no 
doubt,  but  the  civitas  Cantguic,  or  Centumvici,  is  that  of  Condivicum,  properly  Con- 
divicnum,  of  the  Namnetes.  Whether  the  ancient  Gaulish  name  Condivicnum"  si"- 

W 

nified  centum  vici,  or  did  not,  that  etymology  seems  to  have  been  attached  to  it ;  and 
may  have  contributed  to  introduce  the  spelling  Condivicum.  With  Ushant  for  your 
vertex,  and  Mont  St.  Michel  and  Nantes  at  the  base,  you  have  the  Britanny  of  the 
llistoria  Britonum.  If  Dom  Morice  has  taken  any  notice  of  this  passage,  or  the  mat- 
ters to  which  it  relates,  in  his  voluminous  work,  it  has  escaped  my  observation. 

Mr.  O'Donovan  has  justly  remarked,  that  the  translator  mistakes  crug,  a  hill  or 

mound, 

"  Itecte   sic  ap  MSS.  Petav.  et  Cotton.  Minus       grounds,    that   it   referred   to   a   confluence    of 
recte  Tanguic,  etc.  streams — Notitia  Galliarum,  p.  367. 

v  Adrien    Valois    supposes,    upon    uncertain 


mound  (tumulus  of  Marcus,  and  cumulus  of  Nennius),  for  crux,  a  cross. — Notes  on 
the  Hy  Fiachrach,  p.  413. — (H) 

No.  XL     See  page  68. 

The  Britons  of  Letha,  $c — Britanny  was  called,  by  the  Celts  of  Great  Britain, 
Llydaw,  and  in  Irish  Letha,  or  Leatha,  which  words  are  expressed  in  Latin  Letavia. 
Its  derivation  is  from  the  Latin  littus,  and  is  equivalent  in  sense  to  the  word  Armories ; 
or,  with  the  mutation,  Arvorica,  whence  Procopius  took  his  'Ap/3opu£oi,  de  Bello  Goth. 
i.  12.  Lez,  in  Armorican,  is  shore  ;  and  Lez  ar  mor,  oiar  vor,  is  shore  of  the  sea;  some- 
times redundantly  expressed  lez  en  ar  vor,  which  arises  from  making  one  word  of  armor, 
or  arvor,  littus  in  maritimis.  Hence  the  noble  family  of  Lez'narvor.  See  Rostrenen, 
Diet.  Francois-Breton  in  Bord  de  la  mer  ;  Bullet  Diet.  Celtique  in  Letav  and  Llydaw. 
Others  have  improperly  derived  the  word  Letavia  from  the  L»ti,  a  sort  of  auxiliary 
militia,  holding  lands  under  the  lower  emperors  of  the  West. 

Nennius  has  a  much  stranger  story,  which  our  translator  (if  he  found  it  in  his 
copies)  has  done  wisely  to  reject.  He  says  that  the  British  colonists,  who  married 
Gaulish  wives,  cut  out  the  tongues  of  their  wives,  that  the  children  might  not  learn 
Latin ;  and  that,  on  that  account,  the  people  were  called  Lled-tewig,  pi.  Lled-tewigion, 
i.  e.  Semi-tacentcs.  A  similar  account  is  given  in  the  Breuddwyd  Maxen,  but  with 
less  care  in  adapting  the  name  to  its  etymon :  "  because  of  the  women  and  their  lan- 
guage being  reduced  to  silence,  the  people  were  called  the  men  of  Llydaw  Brytaen." — 
Y  Greal,  p.  297.  That  notion  must  have  obtained  some  vogue;  for  we  find  ./Eneas  of 
Britanny,  the  father  of  Emyr  Llydaw,  called  ./Eneas  Lledewig  o  Llydaw,  i.  e.  zEueas 
Semitacens  Letaviensis. — Bonedd  y  Saint,  p.  30,  31. 

Leatha  was  certainly  used  two  ways  in  Irish,  sometimes  for  Letavia  and  sometimes 
for  Latium;  from  which  some  doubt  and  confusion  hath  arisen.  See  Mr.  O'Donovan 
on  the  II y  Fiachrach,  p.  410.  In  the  Scholia  upon  the  poet  Fieeh,  in  Colgan's  Trias, 
probably  by  more  scholiasts  than  one,  it  is  explained  both  ways.  That  is  the  origin 
of  the  ridiculous  fable  of  king  Faradhach  Dathi,  nephew  and  successor  to  Niall  of  the 
Nine  Hostages,  having  carried  his  arms  into  the  Alps  and  been  there  slain.  Like  his 
uncle  he  attacked  Leatha;  and  like  him,  met  his  death  there;  and  his  descents  upon 
Letavia,  when  construed  into  an  invasion  of  Latium,  i.  e.  Italy,  bring  him,  in  due  course, 
to  the  Alps.  He  was,  by  some  accounts,  shot  with  an  arrow ;  and  "  the  learned  say 

that  it  was  with  the  same  arrow  with  which  Niall  of  the  Nine  Hostages  was  slain." 

Hy  Fiac/tr.,  p.  23.  Strange  indeed!  if  the  arrow  which  slew  Niall  upon  the  coast 
of  Britanny,  had  found  its  way  to  the  Alps.  But,  if  they  were  killed  in  the  same 
country,  it  might  possibly  be  the  same  arrow.  There  the  truth  of  the  matter  tran- 

c  2  spires 


spires  ;  and  it  is  not  a  little  confirmed  by  the  existence  of  Dathi's  tomb  at  Rath 
Crogan,  in  Connaught.  In  the  Battle  of  Magh  Rath,  or  Moira,  pp.  4, 5,  it  is  mentioned, 
that  Ugaine  Mor  (King  of  Erin,  anterior  to  authentic  history)  took  hostages  of  Erin 
and  Albany,  and  eastwards  to  Leatha.  And  if  we  understand  these  words  as  inclusive 
of  Great  and  Little  Britain,  rather  than  of  Italy,  we  shall  give  compactness  to  the  story, 
and  mitigate  its  improbabilities — (II) 

No.  XII.     See  j/ai/e  71. 

Seeerus  the  Second,  8,'c.— All  the  Latin  copies,  after  briefly  introducing  Severus  the 
Second  and  Constantinus,  say,  "  now  we  must  resume  the  history  of  Maximian  the 
tyrant,"  i.  e.  Maximus,  and  so  give  the  upshot  of  his  attempts.  But  the  translator 
has  thrown  Maximus'  history  into  one  piece.  The  ninth  emperor  is  the  tyrant  Con- 
stantinus, who  reigned  at  Aries  in  Provence.  But  it  is  less  easy  to  say  who  is  the 
second  Severus;  for  Libius  Severus  of  Lueania,  Count  Ricimer's  puppet  in  461,  is 
clean  out  of  the  question. 

In  the  enumeration  prefixed  to  Marcus,  he  is  called  "  alius  Severus  vEquantius," 
]>.  46;  and  the  text  of  Marcus  twice  (pp.  62,  80)  mentions  Gratianus  /Equantiiis  as  the 
Roman  consul  at  the  time  when  the  Saxons  came  over;  which,  anyway,  is  an  anachro- 
nism, but  must  relate  to  Gratianus  Municeps,  and  not  to  the  elder  Gratiaii.  Nennius 
has  it  Gratianus  (otherwise  Martianus")  S/'C/mdiis,  cap.  28.  What  can  this  word 
ii'yuantitis  mean?  It  is  said  in  the  Chronicle  of  Kings,  that  Gratianus  Municeps,  with 
two  legions,  drove  the  Scots  out  of  Britain — Galfrid.  5.  cap.  16.  The  headings  of  chap- 
ters to  Nennius  state  (cap.  24),  that  "Severus  II.  directed  another  wall,  of  the  custo- 
mary structure,  to  be  built  from  Tinmouth  to  Rouvenes  against  the  Picts  and  Scots." 
Now  if  Gratianus  Municeps  caused  the  Sevrrian  or  Tinmouth  wall  to  be  repaired,  he 
might,  for  that  service,  be  called  "ail  Severys,"  which  word  ail  gives  the  double  sense 
(if  another,  or  a  second,  and  of  being  similar  or  equivalent  to  the  first;  or,  in  the  words 
of  the  preface  to  Marcus,  "alius  Severus  a-quantius."  Certainly,  the  application  of  this 
word  both  to  Gratianns,  and  to  an  unknown  Severus  occupying  Gratiari'i  riyht  place 
in  a  series  that  omits  him,  strongly  suggests  their  identity.  Geoffrey's  Latin  steers 
clear  of  this  Severus;  but  the  Welsh  copies,  marked  Tysilio  and  Basingwerk,  introduce 
him  upon  the  death  of  Gratianus  Municeps  (not  as  king  or  as  emperor,  but  as  comman- 
der 

"  There  was  a  Marcianus  in  the  East  three  (in  his  cap.  31)  Gratiano  secundo  Equantio  ; 
\ears  later  than  the  date  in  question,  viz.,  449;  but  whether  from  a  text,  or  by  combining  toge- 
assigned,  however,  to  that  very  year  by  Beda,  i.  ther  two  different  texts,  does  not  clearlv  appear, 
cap.  IS,  and  in  his  Epitome  ;  but  there  never  Gale's  readings  know  nothing  at  all  of  /Equan- 
was  a  Marcian  the  Second.  Mr.  Stevenson  prints  tius. 


XXI 

der  of  an  auxiliary  legion),  and  sot  him  to  work  upon  the  wall  ofSeverus.  Brut.,  p.  225 ; 
Roberts,  p.  103.  The  interval  between  Gratianus  and  Gallic  Ravennas  (from  thirteen 
to  nineteen  years),  is  sufficient  to  admit  of  both  having  laboured  upon  the  wall ;  the 
former  on  the  old  Severian  model,  and  the  latter  in  solid  masonry.  I  take  Gratianus 
Municeps  to  mean  Gratian  of  Municipium,  or  Caer  Municip,  that  is,  of  Verulamium. 
See  above,  add.  notes,  No.  I.,  p.  v. 

All  that  follows  (briefly  here,  but  more  fully  in  the  Latin)  concerning  the  Roman 
expeditions  to  reconquer  Britain,  and  their  depredations,  is  false;  and  not  easy  to 
account  for.  The  auxiliary  legion  sent  by  Honorius,  and  that  afterwards  led  over  by 
Gallion  of  Ravenna,  to  assist  the  Britons,  form  their  sole  historical  basis — (H) 

No.  XI11.     Seepage  79. 

The  miracle  of  Germanus  is  thus  recorded  by  Hericus  Autisiodorensis  from  his 
recollection  of  the  oral  communications  of  Marcus  Anachoreta,  the  original  compiler 
of  these  British  histories,  with  whom  he  had  been  personally  acquainted "  Tin- 
shores  of  Gaul  would  be  the  end  of  the  world,  did  not  the  isle  of  Britain,  by  its  singu- 
lar magnitude  almost  deserve  the  name  of  another  world.  This  island,  peculiarly 
devoted  to  St.  German,  acknowledges  herself  indebted  to  his  sanctity  for  many 
benefits;  being  illuminated  by  his  teaching;  more  than  once  purified  by  him  from 
the  taint  of  heresies;  and,  lastly,  adorned  with  the  lustre  of  many  miracles  which 
need  not  to  be  repeated,  since  they  have  been  committed  to  writing  by  the  study  of 
noble  doctors.  One  of  them  is  especially  famous,  of  which  the  knowledge  hath  come 
down  to  us  through  the  holy  old  man,  Marcus,  a  bishop  of  the  same  nation,  who  was 
by  birth  a  Briton,  but  was  educated  in  Ireland,  and,  after  a  lonar  exercise  of  episcopal 

J  I 

sanctity,  imposed  upon  himself  a  voluntary  pilgrimage;  and  being  invited  by  Hie 
munificence  of  the  pious  king  Charles,  spent  an  anachoretic  life  at  the  Convent  of 
Saints  Medard  and  Sebastian;  a  remarkable  philosopher  in  our  days,  and  of  peculiar 
sanctity.  He  was  wont  to  relate  before  many,  that  German,  the  holy  apostle  (to  use 
his  own  words)  of  his  nation,  when  he  was  traversing  the  Britannias,  entered  the 
king's  palace  with  his  disciples.  It  was  then  severe  winter,  and  very  inclement,  not 
only  to  men,  but  even  to  cattle.  Therefore  he  sent  a  message  to  the  king  to  ask  shelter 
for  the  approaching  night.  The  king  refused,  and,  being  a  barbarian  both  by  nation 
and  character,  made  light  of  the  matter.  Meanwhile  German,  with  his  disciples, 
remaining  in  the  open  air,  stoutly  endured  the  inclemency  of  the  weather.  And  now, 
as  the  evening  had  closed  in,  the  king's  swineherd,  having  returned  from  the  pastures, 
was  carrying  home  to  his  own  cottage  his  daily  wages  which  he  had  received  at  the 
palace.  When  he  saw  the  blessed  German  and  his  disciples  starved  with  the  wintry 

cold, 


XX11 

cold,  he  drew  near,  and  humbly  asked  him  to  state  who  he  was,  and  why  he  staid 
there  in  the  severe  frost?  Having  collected  nothing  certain  from  his  answer,  but 
being  moved  by  the  dignity  of  his  person,  he  said,  I  beseech  you,  my  Lord,  whoever 
you  are,  to  consider  your  body,  and  enter  the  lodging  of  your  servant,  and  to  accept 
such  good  offices  as  my  poverty  permits,  for  I  see  that  it  is  of  no  small  importance  to 
mitigate  the  inclemency  of  the  approaching  night  even  in  the  meanest  dwelling.  Not 
despising  the  quality  of  the  person,  he  entered  the  dwelling,  and  gladly  received  the 
services  offered  him  by  the  poor  man.  He  possessed  only  a  cow  and  a  calf;  and  turning 
to  liis  wife  he  said,  'Eh?  do  you  not  perceive  how  great  a  guest  you  have  received? 
look  sharp,  then,  and  kill  our  only  calf,  and  serve  it  up  for  those  who  are  about  to 
sup.'  She  presently  obeyed  the  order,  and  cooked  the  calf,  and  set  it  on  the  table. 
The  bishop,  abstinent  as  usual,  desired  the  others  to  eat.  Supper  being  finished, 
German  called  the  woman  to  collect  carefully  the  bones  of  the  calf,  and  lay  them  upon 
its  skin,  and  place  them  before  its  mother  in  the  cow-house.  This  being  done  (strange 
to  say)  the  calf  presently  arose,  and,  standing  by  its  mother,  began  to  feed.  Then, 
turning  to  them  both,  the  prelate  said,  '  Receive  this  benefit  by  way  of  compensation 
for  your  hospitality,  but,  without  prejudice  to  the  reward  of  your  charity.'  All  extolled 
the  wonderful  issue  of  the  event  with  united  praises.  Next  day  the  bishop  went  to 
the  palace,  and  waited  for  the  king's  coming  forth  into  public.  German  received  him 
as  he  came  out  from  the  interior,  and,  as  soon  as  he  was  accessible  to  verbal  reproof, 
severely  asked  him  why  lie  had  denied  him  hospitality  the  previous  day.  The  king 
was  stupified;  and,  being  astonished  at  the  man's  firmness,  refrained  from  answering. 
Then  Germanus  with  wonderful  authority  said,  '  Go  forth,  and  resign  the  sceptre  of 
the  kingdom  to  a  better.'  And  he  hesitated :  German  immediately  thrust  him  with 
his  staff,  and  said,  '  Thoushalt  go  forth,  and,  as  the  Lord  hath  certainly  decreed,  shall 
never  again  abuse  the  kingly  power.'  The  barbarian,  awed  by  the  divine  power  in  the 
prelate,  immediately  went  out  of  the  gates  of  the  palace  with  his  wife  and  children, 
and  made  no  further  attempt  to  retain  it.  Then  German  sent  one  of  his  disciples  to  call 
forth  the  swineherd  and  his  wife,  and  to  the  astonishment  of  the  whole  palace,  placed 
him  on  the  summit  of  royalty;  from  which  time  until  now  kings  proceeded  from  the 
race  of  the  swineherd,  God  wonderfully  regulating  human  affairs  through  St.  German. 
The  aforesaid  bishop,  whose  probity  whosoever  hath  experienced,  will  by  no  means 
hesitate  to  believe  his  words,  assured  me,  with  the  addition  of  an  oath,  that  these 
things  were  contained  in  catholic  letters  in  Britain." — Herici  de  Mirandis  S.  Germ.  i. 
cap.  55 ;  apud  Ph.  Labbe  Novas  Biblioth.  MSS.  torn.  i.  p.  554-5.  Compare  Marcus, 
pp.  62-5 ;  Ncnnius,  cap.  30. 

It  is  observable  that  all  proper  names  of  men  and  places  are  omitted  here,  Hcric 
being,  no  doubt,  unable  to  retain  them  in  his  memory ;  consequently  Britannia  and  her 

king 


XX111 

king  are  mentioned  generally  in  lieu  of  Powys  and  its  local  dynasts.  Germanus  visited 
Britain  in  company  with  St.  Lupus  in  429;  and  again  in  447,  accompanied  by  Severus. 
But  all  the  accounts  of  his  transactions  with  Vortigern  have  the  character  of  fable. 
He  died  on  the  3  ist  of  July,  448,  being  an  early  period  of  that  ill-fated,  but  long-lived, 
monarch's  career. 

The  Belinus  of  Marcus,  and  Benli  of  Nennius,  is  Benlli,  surnamed  Gawr,  or  the 
Giant,  lord  of  lal,  a  mountainous  district  of  Denbigh. — Llwyd  Commentariolum,  p.  91. 
That  Gawr  is  used  properly  for  giant,  and  not  for  a  mighty  man,  seems  from  Gwilym 
Rhyvel's  mention  of  the  gwrhyd  (length  or  stature)  of  Benlli  Gawr. — Englynion  y 
Davydd  ap  Owain,  v.  25.  Nothing  is  known  of  him  besides  the  fable  in  Nennius.  But 
the  grave  of  his  son,  Beli  ap  Benlli  Gawr,  a  fierce  warrior,  is  mentioned  in  the  Bedclau 
Milwyr,  or  Graves  of  Warriors,  stanza  7  3  : 

"  Whose  the  grave  upon  the  Maes  Mawr  ? 
Proud  his  hand  upon  the  long-bladed  spear, 
The  grave  of  Beli  ap  Benlli  Gawr." 

And  some  account  of  that  grave  is  given  in  a  prose  narrative,  printed  in  Y  (ireal, 
p.  239.  The  late  Dr.  Owen  Pughe  imputed  to  this  son  of  Benlli  a  modification  of  the 
laws  of  Bardism. — Preface  to  Llywarch  Hen.,  p.  Ix.  Welsh  Diet,  in  Beli.  But  for  this 
he  has  adduced  no  authority  beyond  his  own  assertions.  Ralph  Higden,  in  Polyehro- 
nicon  (p.  223),  says:  "  In  Legenda  S.  German!  [i.  e.  in  Heric's  book]  habetur  quod 
dum  Vortigernus  hospitium  S.  Germane  denegaret,"  &c.,  stating  the  affair  precisely  as  in 
Heric,  except  that  where  Heric  names  the  king  generally,  he  puts  in  the  name  of 
Vortigern.  Both  alike  derive  the  kings  of  all  Britain,  not  of  Powys,  from  the  swine- 
herd. It  is  remarkable  that  this  Cadell  Dwrnluc  was  the  founder  of  aline  of  Powysinn 
princes,  and  that  Cadell,  second  son  of  Ilodri  Mawr,  and  father  to  the  law-giver,  llowel 
the  Good,  obtained  Powys  in  the  famous  division  of  Wales  by  Rodri  Mawr.  Yet  this 
doth  not  arise  from  any  confusion  of  the  two  men;  for  Cadell  ap  Rodri  Mawr  had  not 
been  dead  forty  years  in  946,  when  the  last  edition  of  the  Historia  is  dated;  nor  was 
he  yet  born,  "  quarto  Mervini  regis,"  when  the  first  was  compiled.  For  a  sample  of  the 
ancient  genealogies  in  the  Cambrian  Biography,  Cadell  reigned  about  the  close  of  the 
fifth  century  (p.  31),  Vortigern  died  in  481  (p.  168),  yet  Cadell  was  son  ofPusgen,  sun 
of  Rheiddwy,  son  of  Rhuddvedel,  son  of  Cyndeyrn  or  Catigern,  son  of  Vortigern!  The, 
age  of  puberty  must  have  been  early  in  those  days.  Other  genealogies,  contained  in 
a  MS.  of  the  tenth  century,  make  Cadell  Dwrnluc  father  of  Catcgirn,  and  grand  father 
of  Pasgen,  and  son  to  one  Selemiawn.  But  Categiru  and  Pasgen  are  now  universally 
regarded  as  two  sons  of  Vortigern.  So  little  consistency  do  the  boasted  Cambrian 
genealogies  possess.  See  Cambr.  Quart.  Mag.  iv.  pp.  17,  21. 

The 


XXIV 

The  miracle  of  the  calf  is  one  of  a  class  well-known  in  the  hagiography  of  these 
islands.  St.  Patrick  brought  to  life  five  cows  that  were  eviscerata;. — Jocelyn,  cap.  9- 
Having  banqueted  with  his  disciples  upon  Bishop  Trian's  cow  and  calf,  he  brought 
them  both  to  life  again,  lest  the  bishop  should  be  in  want  of  milk. — Vita  Tertia,  cap. 
63.  A  visitor  to  St.  Columba  ate  a  whole  sheep  for  his  dinner;  but  Columba  collected 
the  bones  and  blessed  them,  and  so  completely  restored  the  sheep,  that  a  large  party 
made  a  second  dinner  of  it. — O'Donnell  Vita  Columba?,  ii.  cap.  16.  A  poor  woman 
slaughtered  and  roasted  her  only  calf  for  St.  Bridget's  supper;  but  she  restored  it  to 
lit;.. — Cogitosus,  cap.  27.  St.  Finnian  of  Clonard  restored  a  calf  on  which  he  and  his 
followers  had  supped;  and  St.  Abban  one  which  the  wolves  had  devoured. — Colgan, 
A.  SS.  xxii.  Febr.  p.  396;  xvi.  Mart.  p.  61 1.  St.  Fingar  and  his  777  companions  feasted 
mi  a  poor  Cornish  woman's  cow,  and  then  he  resuscitated  the  skin  and  bones. — Febr. 
xxiii.  p.  389.- — (H) 

No.  XIV.    See  page  <.)•$. 

Let  Itis  blood  be  sprinkled,  Sfc. — The  practice  of  auspicating  the  foundation  of  cities, 
temples,  or  other  solemn  structures,  by  human  sacrifice,  is  not  known  to  me  as  of  any 
remote  antiquity.  Johannes  Malala,  a  compiler  of  the  ninth  century,  gives  this  legend 
of  the  foundation  of  Antioch  by  Seleucus  Nicutor:  "  In  the  plain  opposite  to  theSilpian 

mountain lie  dug  the  foundations  of  the  wall ;  und  sacrificed  by  the  hands  of 

Amphion,  his  high-priest  and  myslagogue  (TeAwreJ),  a  virgin  named  TEmathe,  between 
the  city  and  the  river,  on  the  22nd  day  of  the  Artemisian  month,  which  is  also  May, 
at  the  first  hour  of  the  day,  about  sunrise;  calling  uvriit  [HER,  or  IT?]  Antiocheia, 
after  the  name  of  his  own  son,  Antiochus  Soter.  Presently  he  built  a  temple,  which 
he  dedicated  to  Jupiter  Bottius,  and  diligently  erected  formidable  walls,  Xenams  being 
his  architect.  lie  also  erected  upon  the  banks  of  the  river  a  brazen  pedestal  and  statue 
of  the  sacrificed  virgin,  as  the  Fortune  of  the  city;  and  offered  sacrifice  to  her  as  the 
Fortune." — p.  256.  Subsequently  the  same  Ps'icator  laid  the  foundation  of  Laodicea 
in  Syria.  Having  slain  a  wild  boar,  he  dragged  its  body  round  a  certain  space  of 
ground,  and  dug  the  walls  according  to  the  track  of  its  blood;  "  having  also  sacrificed 
a  pure  virgin,  by  name  Agave,  and  erected  to  her  a  brazen  statue,  as  the  Fortune  of 
the  city." — p.  259.  Of  these  statements  a  certain  Pausanias  Chronographus  appears 
to  be  the  authority ;  and  no  reasonable  doubt  can  be  entertained,  that  they  were  fabu- 
lous, and  founded  upon  the  magical  doctrines  to  which  that  lost  and  unknown  writer 
seems  to  have  been  much  addicted.  From  this  we  collect,  that  the  human  victim 
immolated  upon  such  occasions  was  rewarded  with  deification  and  worship,  and 
accounted  a  sort  of  tutelary  deity  of  the  place.  Merlin  was  to  have  been  the  Tu%i  of 
Vortigern's  edifice.  But  the  narrative  in  Nennius  has  this  distinction,  that  repeated 

failures 


XXV 

failures  had  shewn  the  necessity  of  some  piacular  rite ;  wherein  it  more  nearly  agrees 
with  the  legend  of  St.  Oran  of  lona.  "  The  chapel  of  St.  Oran  stands  in  this  space, 
which  legend  attests  to  have  been  the  first  building  attempted  by  St.  Columba.  By  the 
working  of  evil  spirits,  the  walls  fell  down  as  soon  as  they  were  built  up.  After  some 
consultation  it  was  pronounced,  that  they  never  could  be  permanent  till  a  human  victim 
was  buried  alive.  Oran,  a  companion  of  the  saint,  generously  offered  himself,  and  was 
interred  accordingly.  At  the  end  of  three  days  St.  Columba  had  the  curiosity  to  take 
a  farewell  look  at  his  old  friend,  and  caused  the  earth  to  be  removed.  To  the  surprihe 
of  all  beholders  Oran  stood  up,  and  began  to  reveal  the  secrets  of  the  prison-house ; 
and  particularly  declared  that  all  that  was  said  of  hell  was  a  mere  joke.  This  dan- 
gerous impiety  so  shocked  Columba  that,  with  great  policy,  he  instantly  ordered  the 
earth  to  be  flung  in  again.  Poor  Oran  was  overwhelmed,  and  an  end  for  ever  put  to 
his  prating.  His  grave  is  near  the  door,  distinguished  only  by  a  plain  red  stone." 
Pennant's  Second  Tour  in  Scotland,  ap.  Pinkcrton's  Voyages,  torn.  iii.  p.  298.  We  may 
learn  how  deeply-rooted  this  idea  was  in  the  islands,  by  finding  it  in  both  the  nations 
and  languages,  and  ascribed  to  such  different  persons.  As  to  St.  Odhrun  or  Oran, 
that  he  died  naturally  or  by  visitation  of  God,  appears  in  Colgan's  Latin  excerpta  from 
the  unprinted  Irish  work  of  Magnus  O'Donnell,  lib.  ii.  c.  12.  Some  account  of  that 
saint  is  also  known  to  exist  in  the  Leabhar  Breac,  fol.  1 7 (II.) 

No.  XV.    See  page  93. 

Magh  Ellite.—The  Campus  Electi  in  the  region  of  Glewysing  ;  which  region  is 
otherwise  the  hundred  of  Gwynllwg,  in  Monmouthshire.  In  the  sixth  century  one 
Einion  was  king  of  Glewysing.  See  Liber  Landavensis,  pp.  129,379.  In  the  reign 
of  Alfred  it  was  governed  by  Hoel  ap  Rhys,  and  considered  distinct  from  Gwent. 
Asser  Vita  Alfredi,  p.  15.  It  is  supposed  to  be  named  after  Glywys,  the  father  of  St. 
Gwynullyw  the  Warrior,  and  grandfather  to  St.  Catwg  the  Wise,  and  to  St.  Glywys 
Cerniw,  who  founded  the  church  of  Coed  Cerniw*  in  Glewysing.  Sec  Rice  Rees  on 
the  Welsh  Saints,  p.  170.  The  place  called  Bassaleg  is  said  by  Mr.  Roberts  to  be 
written  in  Welsh  Maes-aleg,  i.  c.  Plain  of  Aleg;  which  he  conjectures  to  be  the  Cam- 
pus Electi.  His  conjecture  has  the  more  force,  from  his  seeming  quite  ignorant  where 
Glewysing  was,  and  that  Bassaleg  was  in  the  heart  of  that  district.  Roberts's  Ant. 
p.  58;  and  apudGunn's  Nennius,  p.  166. 

This  is  very  well;  yet  I  have  some  misgivings  as  to  the  prime  source  of  all  this. 
The  Cor  Emmrys  was  immeasurably  more  famous  than  the  Dinas  Emmrys;  and  it, 

or 

x  Vulgarly  Coedkerne. 
IRISH  ARCH.  SOC.  NO.   l6.  d 


XXVI 

or  the  little  hill  which  it  crowns,  -was  called  the  Mount  of  Election,  possibly  from  the 
inauguration  of  kings.  As  it  is  said,  in  the  Graves  of  Warriors,  that  Merlin  Ambrose 
(surnamed  Ann  ap  Lleian)  lies  buried  in  the  Mynydd  Dewis,  or  Mount  of  Election. 
— Beddau  Milwyr,  st.  14.  But  he  was  notoriously  buried  in  the  Cor  Emmrys.  Now, 
if  the  mount  was  that  of  an  election,  so  also  was  the  plain ;  and  in  that  sense  the 
Maes  Mawr  was  Maes  Elect.  That  plain  was  not  indeed  in  regione  Glewysing,  but  it 
was  in  the  regio  Gewisseorum  or  in  Geteissing,  the  territory  of  the  West  Saxon  kings, 
descended  from  Gewiss.  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth  calls  Vortigern  himself  "  the  consul 
of  the  Gewisseans,"  i.  e.  the  ruler,  by  prolepsis,  of  what  afterwards  was  Wessex. — 
Lib.  vi.  cap.  6.  And  when  Aurelius  Ambrosius  desired  Merlin's  aid  (for  the  Chro- 
nicle makes  two  people  of  them),  upon  occasion  of  erecting  the  Stonehenge,  he  sent, 
precisely  as  Vortigern  had  done,  messengers  in  all  directions  to  find  him,  and  they 
found  him  "  in  natioue  Gewisseorum,  ad  fontem  Galabes,"  viii.  cap.  i  o.  The  writer  was 
Archdeacon  of  Monmouth,  in  which  county  Glewysing  is  situate ,  but  has  in  neither 
place  any  allusion  to  Glewysing.  On  the  other  hand  the  Welsh  seem  so  baffled  with 
this  Saxon  name,  that  the  copy  entitled  of  Tysilio  entirely  suppresses  it;  and  the 
other  copies  translate  it  in  the  first  instance  Erging  and  Ewias,  and  in  the  second 
simply  Ewias. — Brut  Tysilio,  pp.  236,  276.  Lastly,  where  Geoffrey  saith  that  Cad- 
wallader's  West-Saxon  mother  was  "  ex  nobili  genere  Gewisseorum"  (xii.  cap.  14),  the 
Welsh  translators  all  say,  that  she  was  descended  from  the  nobles  of  Erging  and  Ewias. 
— Brut.  p.  384.  But  Erging  and  Ewias  are  in  Herefordshire,  and  have  no  more  to 
do  with  Glewysing  than  they  have  with  the  Gewisseans.  Hence  I  am  inclined  to 
attribute  the  transfer  of  this  conspicuous  fable  into  the  obscure  district  of  Gwynllwg 
and  village  of  Bassaleg,  to  an  inability  to  construe  the  geography  of  the  Camjtus  Electi 
in  Gewisseis,  the  great  scene  of  Merlin's  and  Ambrose's  fame.  Indeed,  the  romance 
of  Merlin  plainly  says,  that  Vortigern's  edifice  was  upon  an  eminence  in  Salisbury 
Plain — Ellis  Metrical  Rom.  iii.  p.  213. 

The  red  and  white  dragon  of  Dinas  Emmrys  were  the  hidden  fates  or  talismans  of 
Britain,  originating  with  king  Lludd,  son  of  Beli  Mawr,  and  his  brother  the  enchanter 
Llevelys.  It  is  scarce  likely  that  a  country  with  such  great  and  central  sanctuaries 
should  have  its  fates  deposited  in  so  remote  and  obscure  a  place.  In  fact,  it  was  not 
their  primary  seat.  For  Lludd,  being  distressed  by  horrid  shrieks  on  every  May- 
day night,  and  learning  that  the  battle  of  the  dragons  produced  them,  measured  Bri- 
tain, and  found  Rhydychain  or  Oxenford  to  be  its  centre,  and  there  placed  a  cask  of 
mead,  and  covered  it  with  a  cloth,  over  which  the  dragons  fought,  and  fell  into  the 
cask  and  were  intoxicated;  and  then  he  folded  them  both  in  the  cloth,  and  buried 
them  deep  in  Dinas  Emmrys  in  Eryri. — Y  Tair  Gormes,  in  Y  Greal,  p.  244 ;  Brut 

Tysilio, 


XXV11 

Tysilio,  p.  169;  Triad  ii.  53.  Therefore,  the  dragons  originally  belonged  to  some 
place  accounted  central.  But  this  allegory  cannot  be  mistaken.  The  night  of  the 
Calan-Mai  was  that  very  night  on  which  Hengist  and  the  Saxons  slaughtered  the 
British  convention ;  the  shrieks  of  the  British  dragon  were  those  occasioned  by  that 
massacre,  and  the  mead-cask  over  which  the  dragons  fought  and  got  drunk  is  the 
banquet,  amidst  the  convivial  orgies  whereof  so  much  blood  was  shed.  But  that  was 
the  twyll  Caer-Sallawg,  or  plot  of  Sarurn,  of  which  the  Cor  Emmrys,  or  Stonehenge, 
was  notoriously  the  scene.  It  is  therefore  at  that  place  (as  I  judge)  that  the  hidden 
dragons  of  Lludd  ap  Beli  were  deposited. 

There  is  another  aspect  to  the  prophecy  of  the  dragons,  which  is  perhaps  the  more 
esoterical  and  bardic  of  the  two.  By  that,  both  the  contending  dragons  are  British. 
The  white  dragon  (says  the  Roman  de  Merlin)  slew  the  red  one,  but  only  survived 
three  days.  The  red  dragon  was  Vortigern,  and  the  white  represented  his  opponents, 

Ambrosius  and  Pendragon,   who  wrested  the  crown  from  him Roman  de  Merlin, 

fol.  xxiv.,  xxv.  Here  two  British  parties  are  the  dragons,  and  the  Saxons  not  directly 
concerned;  here  also  the  colours  are  interchanged,  the  white  or  prevailing  one  being 
the  bardic,  and  the  red  being  that  which  the  bardic  party  reviled.  This  theory  seems 
to  be  in  harmony  with  the  eleventh  Triad,  in  which  the  gormes  or  oppression  of  the 
kalends  of  May  is  distinguished  from  that  of  the  Dragon  of  Britain;  and  the  former 
expressly  said  to  have  been  inflicted  by  foreigners  from  over  sea,  but  the  latter  by 
the  tyranny  of  princes  and  rage  of  the  people — (II.) 

No.  XVI.     See  page  107. 

Gortigern,  son  of  Guatal,  $c. — Gortigern,  son  of  Guitaul,  son  of  Guitolin,  son  of 
Gloui.  It  is  not  known  from  what  parents,  family,  or  province  this  eelcbrated  per- 
son came,  though  he  reigned  so  long  and  so  eventfully.  A  pedigree  printed  in  the 
Cambrian  Quart.  Mag.  i.  p,  486,  departs  entirely  from  this  one,  and  makes  him  son  of 
Rhydeyrn,  of  Deheuvraint,  of  Edigent,  of  Edeyrn,  of  Enid,  of  Ednos,  of  Enddolaw, 
of  Avnllach,  of  Avloch,  of  Beli  Mawr.  The  truth  has  been  hidden  deep,  and  does  not 
appear  to  me  to  transpire  in  either  of  these  Welsh  pedigrees.  The  Welsh  call  him 
Gwr-theyrn,  from  gwr,  a  man  (and  in  second  intention,  a  mighty  man),  and  teyrn,  a 
prince.  Had  this  name  signified  Virilis  Rex,  the  predicate  preceding  the  subject 
would  have  made  it  Gwrdeyrn,  as  in  Cyndeyrn,  Mechdeyrn,  Aerdeyrn,  and  all  com- 
pounds of  which  the  first  word  does  not  end  in  d  or  t,  like  matteyrn,  from  mad  or  mat, 
good.  Therefore  Vir  Regalis  must  have  been  the  sense  of  Gwrtheyrn. 

A  curious  variation  occurs  in  the  spelling  of  this  person's  name,  of  which  the 
causes  are  not  clearly  apparent.  Some,  as  Gildas,  Marcus,  and  Nennius,  put  Gurthegirn, 

d  2  Guorthegirn, 


XXV111 

Guorthegirn,  or  Gorthegirn,  which  seems  to  combine  the  British  spelling  of  ywr  with 
the  more  ancient  and  Erse  orthography  of  tighearn,  a  prince;  while  Geoffrey  and  most 
of  the  Anglo- Normans  use  the  now  received  form  of  Vortigern,  which  is  hard  to  come 
at  any  way.  These  difficulties  ure  complicated  in  one  of  his  alleged  sons,  whom  the 
Welsh  revered  under  the  name  of  Gwrthevyr,  a  word  of  no  facile  etymology  in  their 
tongue.  He,  in  like  manner,  is  Guortimcr  or  Gortimer  in  the  Historia  Britonum,  and 
Vortimer  with  the  others.  This  guor,  turning  into  vor,  seems  to  indicate  that  in  his 
name,  as  in  the  former,  fjwr  is  the  first  element  and  not  ywrth.  But  tevyr  and  timer 
ure  not  easy  to  deal  with.  Again,  the  other  son,  whose  name  Catigern  in  Latin 
should  be  represented  by  Catteyrn  (Battle-prince)  in  Welsh,  is  Cyndeyrn  (Head- 
prince),  being  the  same  that  they  give  to  St.  Kentigern  of  Strathelyde,  and  the 
exact  equivalent  of  his.  There  is  an  obvious  uncertainty  in  these  names,  such  as 
doth  not  usually  (if  indeed  elsewhere)  occur  in  British  names.  This  consideration, 
perhaps,  weighed  with  Gale  in  thinking  Vortigern  was  of  a  Pictish  family.  But, 
since  he  was  of  Gwynedd,  he  is  most  likely  to  have  been  born  of  an  Irish  mother, 
in  the  days  when  that  people  (under  their  own  Ganval  and  Sirigi,  and  the  Briton 
Einion  Vrenhin)  occupied  the  famous  island  of  Mona.  (Vide  infra  the  notes  on  tin- 
Legend  of  St.  Cairnech).  He  was  accused  of  his  friendship  with,  and  support  by, 
the  Irish,  as  well  as  the  Saxons;  though  the  important  upshot  of  the  Saxon  affairs 
lias  cast  the  others  into  shade.  An  ancient  bard  says  (alluding  to  the  massacre  by 
llengist,  at  the  feast  of  the  Kalends  of  May,  and  boasting  that  those  national 
festivities  had  not  thereby  been  crushed  and  abolished),  "the  knife-bearer  shall 
not  stab  the  sword-bearers  of  May-day,  that  is  not  [effected?]  which  was  desired 
by  the  foolishly  compliant  master  of  the  house,  and  the  men  of  his  affection,  men  of 
blood,  Cymmry,  Angles,  Irishmen,  and  North  Britons." — Gicatcil  Llmld.  \.  76.  The 
bard  Golyddan  mentions  him  to  have  been  confederated  with  "  the  Irish  of  Ireland, 
those  of  Mona,  and  those  of  North-Britain." — Armes  Prydain,  v.  10.  His  son  Pas- 
cent  is  said  to  have  contended  for  the  crown  at  the  head  of  an  army  of  Irish  from 
Ireland,  and  to  have  lost  his  life  in  that  conflict. — Galfr.  Monum.  viii.  cap.  I  6.  This 
does  not  agree  with  the  account  of  jVennius,  cap.  52,  that  the  destroyers  of  his  father 
permitted  him  to  reign  in  duabus  regionilus,  viz.,  Buellt  and  Guortigerniawn ;  unless 
we  suppose,  that  he  first  made  that  compromise,  afterwards  contended,  with  Irish  aid, 
for  the  insular  crown,  and,  perishing  in  the  attempt,  transmitted  those  lands  to  his 
family.  For  Celtic  clanship  did  not  admit  of  forfeiture,  as  feodality  did. 

Whatsoever  Vortigern  was,  it  is  evident  that  he  was  a  Briton  of  such  power  and 
influence  throughout  the  island  as  no  other  man  on  record  possessed,  and  maintained 
a  struggle  of  the  most  protracted  duration  against  the  elements  of  foreign  and  domes- 
tic 


XXIX 

tic  anarchy.  Though  it  never  appears  in  any  Latin  shape,  the  epithet  giertk-enav, 
perverse  of  lips  or  mouth,  became  habitually  and  thoroughly  united  to  his  name  by 
his  countrymen ;  owing  to  his  issuing  impolitic  commands,  or  (as  the  Triads  say) 
disclosing  secrets. — See  Beddau  Mihvyr,  st.  40.  Triad  45,  series  i.  10,  series  ii.  21, 
53,  series  iii.  Brut  y  Saeson,  p.  468.  /Erse  Cambro-Brit.  ap.  Llwyd  Commenta- 
riolum,  p.  141.  It  deserves  to  be  remarked,  that  Marcus,  the  author  of  the  Historia, 
though  setting  forth  the  descent  of  Fernmael  from  Vortigern,  and  fondly  magnifying 
the  fastness  of  Caer-Guortigern,  nevertheless  writes  with  all  his  country's  preposses- 
sions against  that  ruler,  and  appears,  from  the  unanimity  of  the  copies,  to  have 
introduced  that  nickname  into  his  pedigree. — (II.) 

NOTE  XVII.     Seepage  120. 

Those  who  have  handled  the  history  of  the  Picts  have  not  produced  a  satisfactory 
result.  Father  limes,  seeing  that  the  name  of  Picti  first  appeared  to  the  north  of  the 
Roman  frontier,  after  the  establishment  of  Roman  civility  in  South  Britain  had  con- 
verted the  staining  of  the  skin  into  a  distinctive  peculiarity  and  a  conspicuous  badge 
of  independence,  built  upon  that  palpable  origin  of  the  name  the  too  hasty  conclusion, 
that  both  the  divisions  of  the  Picts  were  indigenous  Britons.  Herein  he  is  followed 
by  Mr.  Chalmers,  the  meritorious  author  of  Caledonia.  Mr.  Pinkerton,  on  the  other 
hand,  swayed  by  violent  prejudices,  has  denied  not  only  the  British,  but  the  Celtic, 
character  of  all  the  Picts.  He  wrote  under  a  Teutonic  mania,  so  extreme,  that  in  one 
of  its  paroxysms  he  maintained  the  name  of  Scotland  not  to  be  taken  from  the  Scut-. 
The  same  critic  framed  a  wild  romance  about  some  Teutonic  Peukini,  otherwise  Tiki, 
who  travelled  from  an  Isle  of  Peuke,  in  the  Black  Sea,  to  Norway,  where  they  gave 
the  name  of  Vika  to  a  part  of  that  country  (now  Aggerhuys),  and  thence  came  over 
to  Britain  as  Piks,  not  Picts. 

On  the  strength  of  this  modern  mythus,  Pinkerton  and  his  followers  coolly  term 
the  Picts  the  Piks,  and  the  language  the  Pikish;  just  as  if  there  really  were  such  names 
in  the  world.  It  is  easy  to  fly  half  round  Europe  with  a  P  and  a  K;  to  change  1*  into 
V  in  Norway;  and  change  it  bank  into  P  when  you  reach  the  Orkneys.  But  it  is  less 
easv  to  get  rid  of  the  T.  For  every  Teutonic  form  of  the  name  Pict,  that  he  is  able 
to  cite  (Enquiry,  etc.  i.  367,  369,  370),  and  every  Celtic  form  but  one  (the  Pieear- 
daeh  of  Tighernach)  has  a  T;  and  those  Teutonic  forms  which  soften  down  the  name 
at  all,  only  do  so  by  dropping  that  very  C  or  K,  by  aid  of  which  the  Peukins  and 
pretended  Piks  became  Viks. 

But  Vik  itself  is  a  mare's  nest  of  his  finding,  and  Norway  had  no  such  people  as 

the 


the  Viks.  The  noun  vik  is  sinus,  a  bay  or  inlet  of  sea  ;  occurring  also  in  numerous 
compounds.  Vikr  or  Vik,  in  the  oblique  cases  Vikina  and  Vikinni,  was  that  bay 
between  Sweden  and  Norway,  stretching  east  and  west  from  Sotannes  to  Otursnes,  on 
which  the  ancient  city  of  Tonsburg  stood  and  stands,  and  at  the  head  of  which  the 
Christiania-Fiord  runs  up  to  the  modern  Christiuniu.  It  is  the  Sinus,  by  way  of 
excellence,  sometimes  distinguished  as  Eastern,  Vik  Austr.  Schilling's  maps  to 
the  Ileimskringla  give  no  such  land  or  province  at  all,  but  write  Vikina  across  the 
buy  as  above  described.  Though  this  noun*'1  and  its  cases  be  certainly  used,  on  many 
occasions,  for  the  countries  lying  round  the  Vik,  its  true  meaning  is  the  bay  itself,  as 
any  one  may  see,  ex.  gr.,  in  Olaf  llelga's  Saga,  chapters  xlv.  li.  Ixxxii.  Nay,  so  much 
is  distinctly  signified  by  Torfa:us  himself,  Mr.  Pinkerton's  authority  ;  for  his  words 
are:  "  The  southern  coast  sloping  towards  the  Western  Ocean,  between  that  extre- 
mity of  Danholm  island  which  looks  south-east,  and  Cape  Lindisnes  which  looks  south- 
west (forty-one  miles  distant  from  east  to  west),  being  excavated  by  a  recess  of  the 
great  sea,  admits  that  huge  bay  called  the  Oslofiord,  which  runs  up  from  thence  to 
Oslo"  [now  Christiauia],  "and  was  anciently  called  Vik,  and  is  now  called  by  the 
Dutch  sailors  the  Sack  of  Norway  ;  and  the  great  tract  of  land  adjacent  to  this  bay 
was  also  anciently  called  Vik,  a  name  derived  from  it  [</fi  illo  sortitus  nomen],  which 
name  was  subsequently  attached  to  the  district  of  Balms,  which  is  called  Vik  or  Vik- 
sida."! — Torf.  Hist.  Norweg.  ii.  cap.  i.  p.  28.  Elsewhere  he  says,  that  Dal-vik  was  a 
province,  of  three  districts,  surrounding  the  inner  part  of  that  bay  of  Oslo,  which  was 
called  Vik,  and  its  neighbours,  the  Vikenses.—  Ibid.  cap.  ii.  p.  31.  Mr.  Pinkerton  but 
once  ventured  to  refer  to  page  or  chapter,  alledging  Torf n' us,  ii.  18,  in  vol.  i.  p.  175, 
which  happened  to  be  a  perfectly  immaterial  and  safe  passage.  And  no  moral  con- 
siderations deterred  him  from  saying,  "  the  whole  northern  writers  call  this  country 
as  often  Vichia"  as  Vika,  and  /nice  never  dropt  a  single  hint  that  this  name  was  from 
vik." — i.  p.  179. 

From  vik;  bay,  gulph.  or  creek,  comes  vikinqrn;  men  of  inlets,  or  pirates,  "  qui  in 
eundcm  sinum  vel  portum  (sonm  vik)  nude  primum  solverunt  populatum  redeunt." 
—Lex  Antiqua"  Gulathingensis  cit.  Gunnlaug's  Saga,  p.  303.  See  also  Ofai  Wormii 

Mon. 

"Arius  Frnda,  in  Ms  Islanclia.  speaks  of  one  *  This  seems  to  be  merely  a  cavil  on  the  Latin 

Roll  as  bishop  "  i  Vik  Austr,"  whom  the  Kristni-  orthnf/rtipliy  of  modern  authors  in  that  language  ; 

Saga  calls    "  Vikveria  hiskti|>."_  Arius,  cap.  ii.  even  if  it  be  a  true  statement, 

p.  10;   Krist.  cap    xii.  p.  108.  "The   Gulathings-laug,  or   Code  of  Guley   in 

v  Regio  Ad- Sinus- Latns,  a  name  in  itself  suf-  Ilorilaland,  was  enacted  in  the  tenth  century  by 

ficiently  convincing  Ilako  the   Good  ;  and  the  western  part  of  Nor- 


Mon.  Dan.  p.  269,  ami  Haldorson's  Lexicon  in  Vikiiigr.  Opposite  surmises  are  con- 
futed by  the  names  of  the  people  from  places  ending  in  vik,  as  from  Sandvik  the 
Sandvikingar,  or  from  Krossavik  the  Krossavikingar".  But  a  man  "or  Vikinni,"  from 
the  great  eastern  Vik,  could  not  be  styled  a  Vikingr,  both  because  that  name  was 
general  for  all  pirates,  and  because  he  might  not  be  a  pirate.  And  hence  their  com- 
pound name  Vik-veriar,  Sinus-accolic.  Thus  we  see  that  there  never  were  any  Viks 
at  all,  and  that  Vik-men  were  only  the  menc  who  dwelt  on  that  particular  bay. 

As  Innes  made  all  the  Plots  of  one  race,  so  did  he  ;  and,  with  that  view,  he  re- 
sorted to  such  phrases  as  "  the  Caledonians  and  Piks  were  all  one,"  disguising  in  some 
places,  what  he  piits  forward  in  others,  that  the  Caledonians  were  only  one  portion  of 
the  Picti.  Mr.  Pinkerton  also  constantly  assumed,  that  the  Caledonians  were  the 
northern,  and  the  Vecturiones  the  southern  division;  upon  no  better  authority  than 
the  pages  printed  by  Mr.  Charles  Bertram,  under  the  assumed  name11  of  Kicardus 
Corinaius.  The  following  passage,  "  Dicaledones  and  Vectiiriones,  the  former  cer- 
tainly the  Northern  Picts  bordering  on  the  Deticaledonian  sea"  instances  his  want  of 
ingenuousness;  for  Ptolemy's  Dcucaledonian  commenced  as  far  south  as  the  Chersonese 
of  the  Novantes,  which  Solinus  calls  the  Promontory  of  Caledonia,  and  we  the  Mull  of 
Galloway.  The  fact  appears  to  me  to  have  been  the  converse.  Since  the  Ptolemaic 
limits  of  the  Caledonians  were  from  the  Murray  Firth  down  to  Locli  Lomond,  their  re- 
lative position  in  the  Theodosian  age  can  never  be  inferred,  either  way,  from  Ptolemy ; 
those  are  the  tricks  of  history-making,  subservient  to  system  and  self,  rather  than  tu 
external  and  objective  truth. 

Another  main  point  with  this  systematist  was  to  assume,  against  all  historical 
inference,  that  the  Belgie  of  Gaid  and  Britain  were  not  Gauls  and  Britons  in  lan- 
guage and  nation,  because  the  former  had  come  out  of  a  German  stock;  and  that  they 
were  not  of  the  Uruidic  religion,  in  the  teeth  of  Strabo's  clear  and  ample  statements. — 
Geogr.  vol.  iv.  p.  275-6.  Whatever  had  been,  or  was  even  conjectured  to  have  been,  of 

a  German 

way,    in   which  that    law    prevailed,    was    itself  Norway!      "  This  new  name,"  speaking  of  Picti, 

thence  called  Gulathingslatig.   See  Ilakonar  Goda  "  seems  to  have  been  native,   Piks,    or   Pelits  ; 

Saga,  cap.  xi.,and  Schiining's  Heimskr.  iii.  p.  193.  and  to  have  originated  from  a  country  so  styled 

b  The  case  of  Jonisvikingar  is  different.     That  in  the  south  of  Norway,  whence  this  colony  had 

is  contracted   from  Jomsborg-vikingar,   and   ex-  arrived." — vol.  i.  p.  146. 

presses  the  pirates,  not  the  people,  of  Jomsborg;  J  If  any  one  has  yet  a  lingering   faith   in   this 

with  no  analogy  to  the  places  that  are  compounded  forgery,  he  may  divest  himself  of  it  by  consulting 

with  vik.  the  Speculum  Ilistoriale    de  Gestis  Kegum    An- 

1  In   his  Modern   Geography,    grown    bolder,  gliie  per   Fratrem  Kicardum  de  Cirenccstria,    in 

Mr.  Pinkerton  gives  us  Pik,  not  Vik,  for  part  of  Cambridge  library,  FF.  1.  28. 


XXX 11 

a  German  original,  is  presumed  to  have  retained  the  German  tongue  and  institutes; 
which,  if  true,  must  be  equally  true  of  the  Irish  BelgK.  But  it  is  untrue;  "  Firboli 
enim  dicuntur  Britannice,  et  Danaimse  Germanice  locuti;"  the  former  half  of  which 
two-fold  tradition,  relating  to  an  undoubted  and  never  extirpated  people,  is  not 
invalidated  by  the  dubious"  character  of  the  latter. — Ogygia,  p.  10. 

The  Picti  or  painted  folk,  beyond  the  Latin  pale,  were  not  all  of  one  sort.  Con- 
stantino's panegyrist,  who  first  names  the  free  tribes  after  that  peculiarity,  mentions 
the  I)i-Caledonum  (orf  Caledonum)  "  aliornmijne  Pictorum  sylvas  et  paludes."— Eume- 
ni/is,  cap.  vii.  And  Ammianus  says  that,  in  the  time  of  Count  Theodosius,  the  Picti 
were  in  duas  gentes  div/si,  namely,  Dicalidones  et  Vecturiones. — xxvii.  cap.  8.  The 
Calidones  or  Oaledones  were  an  ancient  British  tribe  ("  Qnintc  Caledonios  Ovidi  visure 
Britannos")  whose  language  was  the  British,  for  their  name  is  such,  and  signifies  in- 
habitants of  forests;  whether  the  great  lurest  of  the  North  be  spoken  of,  or  those  Cali- 
dnnia!  Sylvtc  near  the  Thames,  into  which  Cwsar  pursued  Cassivellaun — Florus,  iii. 
c.  xi.  Moreover  we  rend,  that  of  the  People  of  Britain  the  "habitus  corporutn"  were 
"  vnrii,  atque  ex  eo  argumeiita,  namque  rutila;  Caledoniam  habitantium  coma?,  magni 
urtus,  Germanicam  origincm  asserunt." — Tacitus  Agric.  cap.  xi.  But  if  they  were 
then  of  a  different  tongue  r,nd  nation,  the  argumenta  or  conjectures  from  stature 
and  colour  of  hair  would  be  superfluous,  nor  would  the  qiiestion  have  been  merely 
Din'  of  origin. 

When  Scverus  made  war,  it  was  against  the  two  greatest  British  nations  then  re- 
tainincr  independence,  the  Maiate  near  Hadrian's  wall,  and  the  Caledonian  farther  north. 
Both  were  naked,  with  their  bodies  painted  in  various  devices,  and  still  made  use  of 
war  chariots  drawn  by  small  horses — llerodian,  iii.  p.  83,  ed.  II.  Steph.  Xiphilin,  Epit. 
Dionis,  Ixxv.  p.  1280-1,  1283.  Reimar.  These  two  denominations  are  probably  equi- 
valent to  Campestres  and  Sylvestr-s  ;  concerning  the  latter  there  is  not  much  doubt, 
and  mat.  pi.  wpiau,  a  plain,  furnishes  an  etymon  for  Maiate.  Thus  the  two  names 
express  the  two  modes  of  living  ascribed  to  them  by  Dion,  in  the  paragraph  where  he 
names  them,  viz.,  the  nomadic  and  veimtic,  !K  j»>/ii)e  ™i  Oi/par,  and  their  two  habitations, 
viz.,  rugged  mountains  and  uncultivated  plains,  opij  ay  pin  .  .  .  KUI  vicia  i/Hipa — Ixxvi. 
cap.  12.  In  Severus's  time  two  tribes  were  noticed  as  being  picti;  but,  until  a  century 


e    Which,    moreover,  was  denied    In    Keating  ;  not  regarded  as  colonies. 

according   to   whom    Scot-bhearla  was    the    Ian-  '  Some  copies  have    "  non  Dicaledonum,"  and 

guage  of  all  tile  colonies  that  ever  came  into  Ire-  others  "non  dico  Caledonum:"  which  latter  is  not 

land  till  the  English  commest.      See  E.  Lluvd  in  bad  in  point  of  context,  though   extrinsic  reasons 

Scothheailu.     The  conquests  of  the  Ostmen  are  give  a  countenance  to  the  former  reading. 


XXX111 

or  more  had  elapsed,  no  tribe  is  known  to  have  been  named  the  Picti.  At  that  later 
time  the  name  of  the  Maiate  tribe  or  Mfcata;,  living  in  Galloway  and  part  of  Nor- 
thumbria,  had  disappeared  from  the  list  of  free  and  painted  tribes.  Yet,  for  all 
that,  the  South-Pictish  territory  does  not  seem  to  have  been  curtailed  on  the  south, 
for  Candida  Casa,  the  first  South-Pictish  church,  was  on  Maiate  ground,  and  near  the 
Severian  wall.  Meanwhile  the  other  class  of  Picti  Vecturiones  was  coming  into  im- 
portance, and  cutting  short  the  northern  bounds  of  the  Calidones ;  which  in  Ptolemy's 
day,  seventy  years  before  the  war  of  Severus,  extended  from  the  Laslamnonius  or 
Lemaanonius  Sinus  (Lomond)  to  the  Varar  eestuary  or  Firth  of  Moray. 

Now  it  might  be  that  Di-Calidones  and  Vecturioues  were  merely  two  sections  of 
painted  Britons,  being  of  one  race;  as  had  been  the  case  of  the  same  Calidones  and 
their  Maiate  allies.  For  the  phrase,  "  in  duas  geutes  divisi,"  readily  admits  of  it.  Yet  it 
is  probable,  at  first  sight,  that  the  Southern  and  Northern  Picts  were  of  different 
kinds.  For  the  Southern  Picts  embraced  Christianity  at  the  preaching  of  a  Briton, 
circa  A.  D.  412,  and  just  at  the  expiration  of  the  Roman  power.  But  the  contiguous 
nation  of  Northern  Picts  did  not  receive  it  until  after  A.  D.  563,  and  then  at  the  hands 
of  Irishmen  from  Tir-Connell.  The  interval  of  150  years  between  the  conversions  of 
contiguous  states,  with  the  distinct  sources  of  conversion,  strongly  argues  diversity  of 
speech  and  blood.  But  we  have  a  little  more  than  conjecture,  as  both  are  known  to 
us,  in  fact,  but  faintly- 

In  the  Northumbrian  age,  or  Beda's,  we  find  much  of  the  diocese  or  province  of 
St.  Ninia  in  the  hands  of  those  Irish  who  came  afterwards  to  be  termed  Galwegians, 
which  perplexes  the  matter.  But  in  Ninia's  time,  for  aught  that  appears,  the  North 
Cymrnry  country  (regnum  Cambrense  and  Cumbrense)  was  extended  from  Cumbria 
of  Carlisle  to  Cumbria  of  Dunbrcatan  or  the  Strathclyde  Wealhas,  with  no  permanent 
interruption;  and  from  its  first  mother  church  of  Candida  Casa  or  Whithern,  to  St. 
Kentigern's  see  of  Glascu.  We  have  vestiges  of  the  Calidon  Picts,  whose  country 
bordered  upon  the  Strathclyde  principality,  sufficient  to  Vie  recognised,  and  arising  out 
of  disputes  too  hot  and  violent  to  be  considered  fictions.  From  and  after  the  middle 
of  the  sixth  century,  Maelgwn  Gwynedd  was  reigning  over  the  whole  Cymmraeg 
tongue  and  nation,  both  titularly,  and  with  rather  more  of  authority  than  most  of 
his  race  were  able  to  exercise.  He  was  engaged  in  disputes  of  which  the  nature  is 
obscure  and  mysterious,  and  beside  our  present  purpose,  with  the  Caledonians  or 
men  of  the  great  northern  forests,  which  then  (as  we  know)  were  called  Celyddon. 
These  debates,  which  ended  in  the  war  of  Arderydd,  fatal  to  the  Caledonians,  were 
more  immediately  carried  on  by  Khydderch  Hael.  son  of  Tudwal,  son  of  Cedig,  son  of 
Dyvnwal,  Lord  of  Alclyde  or  Dunbreatan,  and  Prince  of  the  Strathclyde  Britons. 

IRISH  AKCH.  SOC.    16.  e  The 


XXXIV 


The  people  of  the  Celyddon  were  under  the  rule  of  a  certain  Gwenddoleu  ap  Ceidiaw, 
a  Cymmry  by  name,  and  himself  a  bard,  of  whose  poetry  a  minute  fragment  survives. 
His  principal  bard  was  Merddin  son  of  Morvryn,  commonly  called  Merlin  the  Caledo- 
nian, 

" de  Albania  Sylvestris  Calidonius 


A  sylva  Calidonia." 

Ranulph.  Polio/iron.  1M9. 


Merlinus,  quse  nunc  Scotia, 
llepertus  est  binomius, 

Though  some  people  said  he  was  a  native  of  Demetia  or  Dyved  in  South  Wales.  But 
that  was  merely  a  confusion  between  Merlin  Ambrose  (who  was  supposed,  through 
an  etymological  error,  putting  Merddin  for  Myrddin,  to  have  been  born  at  Caer- 
marthen, 

"   Ad  Kaermerthvn  Demecia* 
Sub  Vortegirni  tempore") 

and  the  Caledonian  Merlin.  This  confusion  of  the  two  men  probably  originated  with 
Geoffrey  of  Monmouth,  whose  Vita  Mer'ini  is  pervaded  with  it;  and  who  is  thereby 
compelled  to  make  his  Caledonian  vastly  aged,  having  lived  under  a  succession  of 
kings, 

"  Ergo  peragratis  sub  multis  regibus  anmsfi 

Clarus  habebatur  Merlinus  iu  orbe  Britannus. 

Kex  oral  et  vates,  Demetarumque  superbis 

Jura  dabat  populia,  ducibus(|ue  futura  canebat." 


g  Merlinus,  p.  4,  vv.  19-22,  Londini,  1830, 
for  Roxburgh  Club ;  and  ap.  Gfrcerer  Pseudo- 
propheta>,  p.  365.  The  grounds  upon  which  the 
Paris  editors,  Messrs.  Michel  and  Wright,  abju- 
dicate  this  poem  from  Geoffrey,  as  given  in 
Gfrnerer's  preface,  entirely  fail  to  persuade  me. 
I  have  observed,  indeed,  that  the  caisura  of  the 
short  vowel  in 

"  Laurea  serta  date  Gaufrido  dc  Monumeta" 
occurs  in  but  one  other  instance,  the  word  media 
in  K.  749.  But  if  this  metrical  colophon  be  an 
addition,  it  still  is  testimony  of  A.  D.  1285.  That 
Robert  Bishop  of  Lincoln  is  complimented  at  the 
expense  of  his  immediate  predecessor  Alexander, 
whom  Geoffrey  had  extolled  when  living,  and  to 
whom  he  had  inscribed  his  prose  prophecy  of 
Merlin,  may  either  resolve  itself  into  the  nature 


There 

of  worldly  gratitude,  "  a  sense  of  benefits  to 
come,"  or  Alexander  may  have  earned  such  praise 
by  fair  promises,  and  forfeited  them  by  non-per- 
formance. I  see  nothing  more  about  conquering 
Ireland  in 

"  Sextus  Hilierncnses  et  eoruin  nomina  vertet, 
Qui  plus  t't  prudcns  populos  ri'nuvabit  ct  urbes," 

(vv.  079,  GSO) 

than  had  been  said  in  the  prose,  "  sextus  Hibernia.' 
moenia  subvertet,  et  nemora  inplanitiem  mutabit, 
diversas  portiones  in  unum  reducet,  et  capitc 
leonis  coronabitur."  Neither  can  I  discover  a 
syllable  about  Henry  the  Second  in  either  of  them. 
Alan,  Bishop  of  Auxerre,  writing  no  later  than 
circa  A.  I).  1171,  tortured  this  prophecy  into  an 
allusion  to  him,  by  interpreting  sextus  to  mean 
either  Henry's  sixth  and  bastard  son,  or  some 


XXXV 


There  are  no  good  reasons  for  supposing  that  the  son  of  Morvryn  was  born  very 
far  from  the  scene  of  his  adventures.  His  sister  Gwendydd  was  the  wife  of  Rhydderch 
Hael,  against  whom  he  nevertheless  fought  in  the  war  of  Arderydd ;  and  after  the 
defeat  and  death  of  Gwenddoleu,  he  fled  into  the  depths  of  the  Caledonian  forest,  and 
from  his  wild  and  woodland  life  was  called  Merddyn  Wyllt.  The  contest  was  con- 
nected with  the  highest  points  of  bardic  theosophy,  and  waged  between  Gwenddoleu, 
the  patron  of  Merddin,  and  Rhydderch  Hael,  the  patron  of  Kentigern  and  friend  of 
Columkille  ;  for  these  transactions  nearly  synchronize  with  the  conversion  of  the 
North  Picts  by  that  missionary.  Taliesin  Ben  Beirdd  at  the  court  of  Maelgwn,  and 
others  of  that  order  of  poets  and  philosophers,  vehemently  supported  the  Caledonians 
against  Rhydderch  Hael  and  King  Maelgwn.  That  these  Caledonians  were  a  rem- 
nant of  the  Picts  of  St.  Ninia's  mission,  and  South  Picts  of  Beda's  history,  appears 
not  only  from  the  ancient  use  of  that  name  in  Eumenius  and  Ammianus,  biit  more 
immediately.  For  Merddyn  Wyllt,  in  his  interpolated  Hoianau,  says  at  stanza  1 9 : 
"  And  I  will  prophesy,  before  my  ending, 

The  Britons  over  the  Saxons  by  the  energy  of  the  Painted-Men, 

Brython  dros  Saeson  Brithwyr  a'i  medd." 

His  friend  Taliesin,  in  a  poem  where  he  speaks  of  his  bardic  sanctuary  or  conven- 
ticle, 


other  son  yet  to  be  born,  but  without  the  slightest 
allusion  to  the  proceedings  of  Richard  Strongbow, 
just  commenced  in  1109.  Alanus  in  Merlinum, 
lib.  iii.  p.  102,  ed.  1608.  To  make  Henry  him- 
self the  sixth  Norman  king,  by  counting  in  both 
Matilda  and  Stephen,  would  be  less  absurd.  But 
the  prophecv  was  both  composed  and  translated 
into  prose  several  years  before  his  accession.  In 
my  humble  conjecture,  it  received  its  present 
form  in  the  Conqueror's  reign,  he  being  the  sixth 
from  Canute  the  Great  inclusively  ;  and  the  con- 
quest of  Ireland  is  a  false  prophecy,  as  others 
concerning  the  sixth  king  are. 

But  this  poem  is  mainly  from  sources  in  the 
British  tongue,  and  composed  by  a  proficient 
therein.  The  names  of  Rodarchus  Largus,  Ga- 
nieda,  and  Peredur,  the  intimacy  and  fellowship 
of  Telgesin  with  Merlin,  the  unique  and  otherwise 
lost  records  of  Merlin's  friend,  Maeldin  of  Ar- 
wystli,  and  of  Arthur's  pilot  Barinthus  (Braint), 


not  to  say  the  whole  action  of  the  poem,  is  from 
such  sources.  Merlin's  exordium,  Cell  Christe 
Df-us  !  is  in  the  pure  British  of  his  mystical  sect, 
Criit,  Duw  Celi!  or  Crist  Celt,  Duw  !  For  in 
the  whole  manuscript  there  is  but  one  instance  of 
a  diphthong  in  common  use  (which  in  feminu  it 
neither  was  nor  is)  being  omitted,  viz.,  lyre  for 
lyres,  v.  104:  and  c&lum  occurs  seven  times. 
But  were  there  not  other  fine  Latinists  in  Wales? 
Vel  duo,  vel  nemo.  Giraldus  could  have  fur- 
nished the  Latin,  and  perhaps  could  have  got  up 
the  matter.  But  this  is  not  the  mere  case  of  ano- 
ther Welshman,  but  of  another  figuring  in  eastern 
England,  of  another  at  LINCOLN,  and  patronised 
by  two  successive  bishops  of  that  see.  The  dedica- 
tions to  the  two  bishops  of  Lincoln,  and  the  two- 
fold allusions  to  one  of  them,  which  are  alleged 
for  disproof,  are,  to  my  mind,  as  coupled  with  the 
rare  and  peculiar  qualifications  of  the  author,  a 
cogent  proof. 


tide,  the  addvwyn  caer,  as  a  ship  on  the  sea  preparing  to  sail  away  from  danger  and 

persecution,  intimates  an  intention  of  removing  it  to  the  Picts  : 

"  Usual  is  the  rising  surge  of  the  bards  over  their  mead  vessels ; 
There  shall  be  an  impulse  unto  it  in  very  sudden  haste, 

The  promise  unto  them  of  the  green-sward  of  the  blue  [or  woad-painted]  Picts. 
Addaw  hwynt  y  werlas  o  Glas-Fiuliii." — Mic  Dinliycli*1,  st.  i. 

The  gwerlas  of  the  Glas-Fichti  is  the  on-hard  of  Merlin's  147  apple-trees,  eoncealed 
in  a  deep  and  sweet  glade  of  the  Celyddon.  After  the  restoration  of  the  Celtic  monarchy, 
the  Briton  Picts,  or  Calidones,  again  became  fellow-subjects  of  the  Britons,  and  were 
influential  by  their  hatred  of  the  Romans,  and  attachment  to  the  superstitions  they 
had  nominally  abjured.  And  these  same  were,  as  I  lean  to  think,  the  Picts  to  whose 
support  Vortigern  is  said  to  have  been  much  beholden.  However  that  may  be,  they 
were  those  of  whom  the  existence  was  obscurely  recorded  in  the  Arthurian  mythus. 
Therein  a  certain  Loth,  Lot,  or  Leo,  was  King  of  the  Picts  of  Lothian  (Lodoneis), 
husband  to  Arthur's  sister,  Anna,  and  father  of  Medrawd  or  Modred. —  L'ssher,  Brit. 
Eccl.  p.  357;  Brut.  G.  ap.  Arthur,  p.  311.  This  Loo  king  of  Picts  was  Llew.  son  to 
Cynvarch,  son  of  Meirchion,  and  brother  to  Urien  lleged  and  Arawn.  Arthur  gave 
Lothian  and  other  lands  thereabouts  to  Llew ;  to  Arawn  he  gave  Scotland ;  and  to  Urien 
he  gave  Ilegcd.  This  unknown  district  (absurdly  stated  by  Dr.  Owen  Pughe'  to 
have  been  in  Glamorgan)  was  certainly  in  the  north.  It  was  (saith  Brut  G.  ap.  A.), 
"  Mureif  the  land  otherwise  named  Rhcged  ;"  and  so  Geoffrey,  sceptro  Muret'ensium 
insignitur,  ix.  cap.  9  ;  which  phrases  seem  to  express  Mureve,  Morave,  or  Moray. 
But  the  Brut  marked  B  has  it  parth  a  mur  yr  Eifft,  "  in  the  direction  of  the  wall 
of  the  Egyptians,"  i.  c.  of  the  Gaidheal  from  Scota  and  Pharaoh,  but  vulgarly  the 
Pict's  Wall ;  and  the  grant  of k  Scotland  to  Arawn,  and  still  more  the  proximity  of 
Loch  Lomond  to  Mureif,  seem  to  prove  that  mur,  wall,  and  not  Moravia,  \va>  the 
original  idea.  Leo,  King  of  Picts,  was  reputed  the  maternal  grandfather  of  St.  Cyn- 
deyrn  Gctrthwys,  that  is  St.  Kentigern  of  the  Region  of  the  Vallum  or  Rampart,  Bishop 
of  Penrhyn  Rhionydd  (Promontory  of  the  Rhions,  whatever1  they  may  be),  otherwise 
called  Glas-cu  ;  which  admits  of  the  interpretation  Beloved  of  the  Blue,  \.  c.  of  the 
Glas-Fichti. 

The 

11  The  line  quoted  in  Chalmers's  Caledonia,  i.  '  The  Lexicographer   Owen   Pughe  in  his  ae- 

p.  204,  does  not  exist.  com!  edition,  inserts  the  gloss,  rhion  pl.ydd.  a  sire, 

1  Cambr.  Biogr.  in   Urien.  but  oft'ers  no  sort  of  authority,  nor  explains  what 

k  For  these  writers  name  it,   I  conceive,   in  a  he  means  by  a  sire.      I  guess  the  word  r/iionyrJd 

more  modern  way;   not  as  speaking  of  the  true  to  be  a  northern  form  of  r/iianerld,  ladies,  as  in  the 

Dalriadha.  place  called  Morva  Uhianedd. 


XXXV11 

The  requiescence  of  the  North  Picts  after  the  final  departure  of  the  Roman  legions 
("Picti  in  extrema  insulo;  parte  tune  primum  et  deinceps  requieverunt,  prajdas  et  con- 
tritiones  nonnunquam  facientes")  is  not  attributable  to  change  of  character,  being  still 
savage  heathen  marauders,  nor  to  decline  of  their  power,  which  was  growing,  but  to 
the  dissolution  of  their  league  with  the  Di-Calidones,  and  re-union  of  the  latter  to 
the  other  tribes  of  Britons;  by  which  means  the  Vecturiones  were  separated  from  the 
old  Roman  frontier,  and  the  territory  of  their  former  allies  to  the  south  of  the  Gram- 
pians became  the  object  of  their  conquest. — See  Gildas,  Hist.  cap.  xix.  The  Caledo- 
nians and  Martians  came  to  an  end,  having  gradually  lost  their  territory.  The 
establishment  of  that  other  Pictish  people,  who  in  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries 
were  called  the  Galwegians  or  Gallovidians,  in  the  heart  of  Cumbria  or  the  Xorth- 
west  Wales,  must  have  been  a  serious  blow  to  the  people  of  the  southern  Pictavia. 
The  Irish  annals  mention  desultory  invasions  of  St.  Ninia's  country  by  the  Cruithne 
of  Ulster  in  682  and  702,  and  their  establishment  there  towards  the  end  of  the  eichtli 
century — Cit.  Chalmers,  i.  358.  When  Maelgwn  of  Britain,  Rhyddevch  of  Strath- 
clyde,  and  Aidan  M'Gabhran,  King  of  the  Scots,  were  fighting  against  the  Calidonians  at 
Arderydd,  that  tribe  retained  but  a  remnant  of  territory  between  the  Clyde  and  the 
mountains  of  Argyle  to  the  north  of  Loch  Lomond ;  and  we  may  suppose  that  the  war 
of  Arderydd  was  the  finishing"1  of  them.  Though  Beda  speaks  of  the  Grampian  hills 
as  dividing  the  country  of  the  Northern  from  that  of  the  Southern  Picts,  it  is  obvious 
that  he  speaks  retrospectively,  and  in  reference  to  the  period  when  the  Calidom-, 
driven  from  the  Varar  (the  ancient  Ptolemaic  boundary  of  the  vast  Sylva  Calidonia), 
yet  held  the  Grampian  barrier  against  the  Vecturiones;  and  that  only  one  kingdom  of 
Picts  was  existing  in  his  time. 

We  must  pronounce  against  Father  Innes,  that  the  Vecturiones  or  North  Picts 
were  another  race.  His  whole  argument,  reinforced  by  Mr.  Chalmers'  researches, 
from  the  frequency  of  British  names  or  roots  in  North-Pictish  topography,  is  to  be 
answered  by  the  ancient  reign  of  the  Calidones  from  the  Varar  to  the  upper  wall. 
For  conquerors  never  fully  obliterate  the  names  of  places.  But,  as  the  Calidonians 
were  certainly  indigena;  within  all  records  of  history,  their  hair  and  stature  alone 
raising  the  suspicion  of  diverse  origin,  so  the  Picts  of  the  most  famous  Pictish  state 
are  pronounced  by  all  with  one  voice  to  have  been,  like  the  Scoti  in  Albany,  "  trans- 
marine 

111  The  biographers  of  St.  Fechin  of  Fore  men-  moch,  the  tenor  of  St  Fechin's  remarks  shews  hi> 

tion,  about  the  close  of  the  year  6(J4,  a  certain  was  a  Cambrian.    Colgan,  Jan.  20,  p.  1.39.    I  can- 

Mochoemoch,    "  Cruthnech   sive    Camber;"  and  not  say  whether  this  man  were  from  the  remnants 

though  he  bore  the  Irish  saint-title  of  Moehoe-  of  the  Calidonian  tribe. 


xxxvm 

marina  gens." — See  Beda,  i.  12  ;  Ncnnius,  cap.  v.  ;  Galfrid.  Monum.  iv.  17  ;  Psalter 
of  Cashel,  cit.  Ogygia,  iii.  18  ;  and  the  Irish  tot  quot.  Mr.  Pinkerton  inconsistently 
maintained  that  the  word  Vecturion  represented  Vikveriar,  i.  e.  the  men  of  his  Vika 
in  Norway.  While  he  was  describing  the  Viks  of  Vika  as  constituting  the  entire  of 
the  Picts,  and  their  name  as  being  his  very  word  Pik,  he  yet  well  knew  that  the 
Vecturiones  were  only  one  of  the  two  Pict  gentes  opposed  to  Theodosius.  But  that 
appellation  cannot  be  shewn  to  have  been  other  than  a  Latin  one;  and  their  trans- 
marine origin,  and  vectura,  or  freightage  in  vessels,  as  opposed  to  the  indigence,  is  pro- 
bably expressed  in  it:  Britanniam  qui  mortales  initio  colucrint,  indigence  an  adcecti, 
ut  inter  barbaros,  parum  compertum — Tacit.  Agric.  cap.  xi.  If  so,  their  arrival  should 
have  been  so  far  recent  in  Theodosius'  time,  as  to  keep  alive  the  tradition  of  their 
vectura,  and  also  to  account  for  their  being  unknown  or  obscure  in  that  of  Sevcrus. 
That  they  came  directly  from  Ireland  seems  agreed. — Beda,  i.  cap.  i. ;  Chron.  Sax.  p.  I ; 
Poem  in  Irish  Nennius;  Psalter  of  Cashel,  tfcc.  They  were  a  tribe  of  Irish  dialect  (or 
language)  and  nation.  That  is  in  the  nature  of  fact.  Gwyddel  is  the  Welsh  word 
for  Irish;  and  it  is  an  adaptation  to  Welsh  analogies  of  the  name  Gaidheal,  the  Gadelic 
or  Gathelic.  That  word  means  Irish,  and  I  have  not  learned  that  it  means  anything 
else.  But  tin1,  Picts  of  the  kingdom  of  Fortren  Mor  (as  was  its  Irish  appellation)  were 
the  Gwyddyl  Fichti,  or  Gaelic  Picts.  The  Brito-Irish  legend  of  St.  Cairnech  adopts 
the  name,  with  confirmation  of  its  meaning,  in  that  of  Gaidheal  Ficht,  the  fabulous 
son  of  Murchertach.  Mr.  Pinkerton  and  Dr.  C.  O'Conor  were  erroneously  led  to  sup- 
pose that  the  Cruthenians  of  the  Dal  n- Araidhe  in  Ulster  were  meant  by  the  Gwyddyl 
Fichti — Inquiry,  &c.  i.  338;  O'C.  Proleg.  cxxvi.  ;  II.  Llmid  in  Anglica  sua  Wallire 
Descript.  pp.  14,  15,  cit.  ibid.  But  those  were  called,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  in 
Latin  and  in  Erse,  Gruthenii,  not  Picti.  In  fact  (and  fact  is  what  we  want)  the 
Gwyddyl  Fichti  were  the  Picts  of  Albany  or  North  Britain,  by  whom  Madoc  ap  Me- 
dron  was  detained  prisoner  in  that  country;  "gan  y  Gwyddyl  Fichti  ynyr  Alban." — 
Triad.  Ixi.  p.  68.  They  were  distinguishable  from  the  Gwyddyl  Coch,  Red  Gael,  i.  e. 
having"  rosy  cheeks,  not  blue  tattooed  cheeks  ;  human  cheeks,  according  to  my  deri- 
vation of  dvQqoiairot;  or  dv9tpiairn<;,  animal  erubescens  or  vultit  florido.  The  Gwyddyl 
Coch  o'r  Werddon  a  daethant  i'r  Alban,  "  the  red  Irish  from  Erin  who  came  to 
Albany,"  were  the  Dalriadhans  under  Loarn  and  Fergus. — Triad,  ix.  They,  were  a 
refuge-seeking,  not  a  conquering  tribe;  but  proved  treacherous  to  those  who  admitted 

them 

'•  Nor  is  the  idea  confined  to  tlie  cheeks  ;  for  we  read, 

Cum  tu  Lydia  Tvk'phi 
Cervicem  roseam 


XXXIX 

them. — Triad,  vii.  On  the  contrary,  the  Gwyddyl  Fichti,  painted  or  dark-blue 
Gaidheal,  were  an  invading  tribe  who  came  into  Britain  by  force. — Triad,  vii.  It  was 
against  the  Gwyddyl  Fichti  that  Vortigern  was  obliged  to  hire  Saxon  aid — Triad, 
xiv.  53.  That  they  were  Milesians,  which  is  the  equivalent  of  Gaidheal,  appears 
in  the  legend  of  Mileadh  Cruthnechan,  Milesius  Pictus;  who  went  over  from  Ire- 
land to  the  Britons  of  Fortren,  to  fight  against  the  Saxons,  and  defend  Cruithen- 
tuath  or  Pictland.  The  Britons  of  Fortren  are  the  Cruthnich  in  Britain,  as  opposed 
to  those  in  Ireland;  and,  if  the  former  continued  to  receive  succours  in  emergency 
from  the  latter,  we  may  the  more  easily  understand  that  their  vectura  was  fresh 
in  remembrance.  That  both  the  peoples,  that  in  Ulster  and  that  in  Fortren,  had  in 
Irish  but  the  one  common  name  of  Cruthneach,  and  long  after  the  usage  which  gave 
the  name  was  abandoned,  is  a  fact  most  opposite  to  the  theory  of  their  distinct  origin. 
All  this  is  old  fact,  not  modern  etymologizing.  They  were  Gwyddyl  Fichti,  of  a  fabled 
connexion  with  one  Gaidheal  Ficht;  the  plain  upshot  of  which  is,  that  they  spoke 
the  Gwyddeleg,  and  not  either  the  Cymmraeg  or  the  Saxon. 

Nor  is  this  deficient  in  verbal  harmony  with  the  common  legend  that  they  came 
fiom  Scythia.  i.e.  from  the  land  of  the  Scuit,  for  Scuit  Fichti,  Mileadh  Fichti,  and  Gwyd- 
dyl Fichti,  would  all  be  synonymous ;  and  the  story  of  the  Cruithnich  from  Scythia 
is  just  such  another  frigid  etymologism,  as  that  of  the  Scuit  from  Scythia.  There  is 
no  good  standing  place,  even  for  credulity,  to  set  up  a  primaeval  tradition  from  the 
true  Scythia  of  the  East.  Because  the  tenor  of  their  legend,  that  they  were  Aga- 
thyrsi  descended  from  Gelcon  son  of  Hercules,  betrays  the  derivation  of  the  whole 
story  from  Virgil's  lines, 

"  Cretesque  Dryopesque  fremunt  pictique  Agathyrsi," 
and 

"  Eoasque  domes  Arabum  pictosque  Gelonos  ;" 

mixing  ignorance  with  their  learning,  and  bending  two  tribes  into  one.  Whatever 
the  word  pictus  meant  of  the  one  it  meant  of  the  others  also,  for  Geloni  and  Aga- 
thyrsi  were  half-tribes  (as  it  were)  tracing  their  origin  from  two  brothers,  sons  of 
Hercules.  It  was  anciently  interpreted  three  ways:  wearing  painted  cloaks,  having 
the  hair  only  died  blue,  or  having  both  the  hair  and  body  stained.  The  second  is  the 
sentiment  of  Pliny.  It  is  not  a  certain  fact  that  these  Scythian  tribes  ever  wore  a 
stained  or  stigmatized  skin.  See  Servius  in  ^Eneid.  iv.  146,  and  Salmasius  in  So- 
linum,  p.  133. 

When  Beda  was  writing,  five  tongues  were  spoken  in  Britain,  English,  British, 
Scottish,  Pictish,  and  Latin;  therefore  the  Gwyddeleg  or  Gaelic,  and  the  Gwyddeleg 
Ficht  were  not  the  same.  But  that  is  consistent  with  a  modification  of  dialect  from  long 

separation, 


xl 

separation,  admixture  with  Britons,  and  other  causes.  Without  reverting  to  that  remote 
truth,  quite  unconnected  with  Beda's  thoughts,  of  the  primitive  identity  of  British  and 
Scottish,  it  is  otherwise  manifest,  that  Beda  included,  as  languages,  such  changes  of 
dialect  as  sufficed  to  impede  communication.  For  if  Pictish  were  Teutonic,  then  English 
and  Pictish  were  but  two  dialects ;  and  if  it  were  Cymmraeg,  then  British  and  Pictish ; 
so  that,  qudcunque  via  data,  two  of  Beda's  tongues  were  nearly  related.  In  the 
biographies  of  St.  Columkille,  the  converter  of  the  Picts,  a  solitary  allusion  is  found  to 
the  diversity  of  Gaelic  and  Pictish,  where  it  is  said  that  a  certain  plebeian  family  of 

Picts,  hearing  him  through   an  interpreter,  believed — Adamnan,  ii.  cap.  32 Vide 

contra,  iii.  cap.  14. 

Pinkerton,  and  his  follower,  Dr.  Jamieson,  relied  upon  the  list  of  kings  as  a  source 

for  Teutonic  etymologies Inquiry,  &c.,  i.   287-312;  Etym.  Diet.  i.  p.  35-41.     By 

raking  together  Teutonic  syllables,  choosing  such  various  readings  of  names  as  suit 
best,  and  assuming  common  etymologies  from  either  source  to  be  from  that  of  their 
choice,  a  show  of  etymological  history  is  set  up  against  real  and  traditional  history. 
But  quite  enough  appears  in  this  catalogue  of  kings  to  confirm,  if  not  to  demonstrate, 
the  premised  facts.  What  can  we  think  of  one  who  will  contend,  that  Keniod  or 
Cinndh,  in  the  Latin  Kenethus  ;  Elpin,  in  Latin  Alpinus;  Wurgest  or  Vergust,  in 
Latin  Fergus  and  Fergusa;  Ungust  or  Hungus,  in  Latin  Oengus  or  Aongus;  Canul  or 
Conal;  Uven,  Eoganan,  Eoghane  or  Owen;  Vered,  Ferat,  Ferach  or  Feredech  (Phe- 
radfich,  in  the  signatures  of  the  Pictish  princes  to  King  Ungust's  Charter  of  Kilre- 
mont);  Donell,  Donnell,  Domnal,  in  Latin  Doiialdus;  Nectau  or  Xeactan,  Fidach, 
Fodla,  as  well  as  Cruthen  or  Crutlme,  the  first  name  on  the  list,  are  not  from  the 
Irish  nomenclature"?  The  seventy-fourth  king  of  Picts  is  Uven,  alias  Eoganan;  but 
Adamnan  mentions  logenanus  presbyter  genere  1'ictus,  ii.  cap.  ix.,  and  afterwards, 
iii.  cap.  v.,  Eogemums  nephew  to  Aidan,  king  of  Scots.  Phiachan,  from  Fiaeh,  and 
Duptaleich,  seemingly  allied  to  Dubhtach  or  Dublulaleth,  and  Glunmerath  to  Glun- 
mar,  one  of  the  various  names  formed  upon  f/luit,  a  knee,  occur,  together  with 

Angus, 

"  The  same  author,  with  some  ingenuity,  pre-  Eoganan,  Alpin,  Kenneth,  Domhnal,  Maolchu- 
tended  that  Ungust,  son  of  Vergust,  when  he  over-  luim,  Macduiuh,  Uonnchad,  and  Macbeth!  Nay, 
ran  the  petty  kingdom  of  Arregaithel  or  Scots,  Mr.  Pinkerton,  after  deriving  Malcolm  (the  well- 
made  an  end  of  the  Dalriadha  dynasties  of  Loarn  known  contraction,  if  not  rather  nominative  forma- 
and  Fergus,  and  set  Pictish  princes  over  it.  But  tion,  of  MaoU-holuim)  from  mat,  speech,  and  knrn, 
he  drew  down  upon  himself  the  absurdity  of  con-  a  man,  coolly  proceeds  to  spell  it  upon  all  occasions 
tending,  that  the  Erse  names  of  all  the  Scots  kinus  Malcuin  ;  finding  Teutonic  etvmologies  for  words 
after  743  were  those  of  German  Piks  and  Viks,  of  his  own  making, 
ex  gr.  Aodh,  Rjnal,  Fergus,  Conal,  Angus. 


xli 

Angus,  Nectan,  and  Bulge,  among  the  royal  witnesses  to  the  charter  of  Kilremont. 
About  the  year  414  the  name  of  Drust  or  Drost,  Drustan  or  Drostan,  came  into 
use  among  the  Pictish  princes.  Under  the  first  of  the  nine  Drusts,  Ninia  and  Patricius 
are  said  to  have  converted  British  Pictland  and  Ireland.  Whatever  the  name  means, 
it  is  the  same  as  the  Cruthnechan  Trosdan1"  of  the  Psalter  of  Cashel.  O'Conor's 
Keating,  p.  121.  Upon  the  whole  I  account  it  clear,  from  their  names,  that  they 
were  Gwyddyl,  or  an  Erse  people.  And  where  we  find  Feradach  changing  into  Vered, 
Fergus  into  Wurgest,  and  Eoghan  into  Uven,  we  need  not  wonder  that  St.  Columkille 
and  the  other  emigrant  monks  of  the  Kinel-Conaill,  who  seem  to  have  met  no  impe- 
diment of  discourse  at  the  Pictish  court,  should  have  failed  in  making  themselves  under- 
stood to  "  the  plebeians"  of  some  districts  without  interpretation.  The  reader  need 
only  compare  the  opposite  columns  of  Welsh  and  Cornish  in  Lhuyd's  Archaologia, 
pp.  251-3,  to  appreciate  the  impediments  arising  from  dialects,  even  in  languages  of 
the  most  undisputed  identity.  The  Gwyddyl  Fichti  formed  the  main  body  of  the 
ancient  Albannaich,  or  people  of  the  kingdom  of  Albany,  of  whom  the  Highlanders 
are  the  remnant ;  the  whole  of  that  body,  except  so  many  clans  as  lay  west  of  the 
Drumalban  hills,  in  Argyle,  Lorn,  Knapdale,  Cowel,  and  Cantire.  And  when  those 
hills  divided  two  hostile  states  (now  united  I  ooo  years)  the  difference  of  dialect  was 
more  perceptible. 

The  following  historical  fragment,  in  the  form  of  a  bardic  prophecy,  is  now  inex- 
plicable; but  seems  to  belong  to  the  ninth  century,  when  the  Northmen,  or  men  of 
Norway  and  Denmark,  had  obtained  a  footing  in  these  islands.  It  is  one  of  the  few 
documents  of  a  forgotten  dynasty,  and  is  worth  placing  on  record,  for  the  chances  of 
future  illustration  : — 

Pump  pennaeth  dymbi  Five  chieftains  there  shall  be 

O  Wyddyl  Fichti,  Of  the  Gwyddelian  Picts, 

O  bechadur  cadeithi,  Of  the  character  of  evil-doers, 

O  genedyl  ysgi.  Of  a  murderous  generation. 

Pump  eraill  dymbi  Five  others  there  shall  be 

O  Norddmyn  mandy.  From  the  habitation  of  the  Northmen. 

Wheched  rhyfeddri  The  sixth  a  wonderful  prince, 

O  heu  hyd  vedi.  From  the  sowing11  to  the  reaping. 

Seithved  o  heni  The  seventh  [sent]  by  old  age 

I  weryd 

P  Macfarland's  Vocabulary,    and    Armstrong's       port,  a  prop,  a  crutch. 
Dictionary,  give  Trosdan,  a  pace,  a  foot ;  a  sup-  q  From  his  birth  to  his  death. 

IRISH  ARCH.  SOC.    1 6  f 


xlii 

I  weryd  dros  li.  To  the  green-sward  beyond'  the  flood. 

Wythved  lin  o  Ddyvi  The  eighth,  of  the  line  of  Tyvys, 

Nid  Ihvydded  escori,  Shall  not  be  estranged  from  prosperity, 

Gynt  gwaedd  Venni  Till  [in]  the  outcry  of  Menni 

Galwawr  Eryri,  Snowdon  shall  be  invoked, 

Anhawdd  y  Dyvi.  Disaster  [unto]  Tyvy — Arch.Myvyr.  i.  73. 

Everything  here  is  completely  obscure,  especially  the  number  Jive  being  repeated. 
Whether  the  sixth,  seventh,  and  eighth  join  on  to  the  five  Gwyddyl  Fichti  or  the 
five  Norddmyn,  depends  on  whether  or  not  lines  5  and  6  be  parenthetical.  Some 
combination  of  the  affairs  of  three  nations,  Picts,  Northmen,  and  Welsh,  is  here  indi- 
cated. 

It  is  extreme  fancifulness  to  dispute  the  meaning  of  the  plain  word  Pictus, 
expressive  of  a  notorious  fact.  That  crotchet  is  as  old  as  Verstegan,  who  says  the  Picts 
were  not  called  of  painting  their  skins,  as  some  have  supposed,  but  upon  mistaking 
their  true  name,  which  was  phichtian  or  fighters.— Restitution,  &c.  p.  124.  This  was 
Teutomania.  But  Dr.  Owen  Pughe,  under  strong  Celtomania,  invented  in  his  dic- 
tionary the  gloss,  "  Pcithi,  the  Picts,"  and  explained  it  "  people  of  the  open  plain," 
iVc. ;  and  this  invention  Mr.  Chalmers  has  chosen  to  adopt. — i.  204.  They  were,  he 
says,  "  called  Peithi,  or  Picti.  Thus  a  Welsh  poet  of  the  seventh  century  says 
(lias  Phichti."  They  were  called  one  thing;  and  thus  they  are  called  another  !  But 
our  concern  is  with  genuine,  not  coined  words.  The  real  meaning  is  shewn  directly 
in  Taliesin's  Glas  Fichti;  and  antithetically  in  the  Gwyddyl  Coc/t.  Claudian,  the 
courtier  of  Stilicho,  had  access  t<>  all  information  concerning  the  tribes,  against  whom 
his  patron  had  a  frontier  to  defend. 

But  indeed  there  were  few  phrases  that  could  be  used  in  that  sense,  and  were  not 
so  applied.  The  Calidones  were  called  by  Ammian  Di-Calidones,  and  the  neighbouring 
ocean  by  Ptolemy  AouijKaXijSovio;,  and  by  Mareianus  Heracleota  Aov/ca\»/$oj/ioc,  the  Du- 
caledonian;  of  which  the  former,  JJl,  expressed  the  pronunciation,  and  the  latter  the 
spelling,  of  Du*,  black.  Britli  in  British,  and  Brit,  in  Irish,  spotted,  variegated,  party- 
coloured 

*  To  the  royal  cemetery  in  tlic  island  of  Icolm-  called  the  Fin-gall  and  Fin-gent,  which  name 
kill?  the  Irish  interpreted  white  strangers,  or  white 

s  Here  (as  printed)  Dyvi,  but  in  the  concluding  Pagans,  from  their  own  word  Jinn,  white.  By- 
line Tyvi ;  as  appears  from  the  mutations,  Dd  mere  antithesis  to  those  names,  and  not  upon 
and  D.  The  Tyvy  is  the  large  stream  dividing  real  grounds  of  colour,  the  Danes  and  Norwe- 
Caermarthen  from  Cardigan.  gians  came  to  be  called  the  Dubhgent,  Black 

1  The  Finlanders   who   invaded   Ireland  were       Pagans,  and   Dubhlochlonaich,  Black    Pirates 


xliii 

coloured,  is  the  probable  etymon  of  Britain,  and  hence  brith-wr,  a  spotted  man,  a 
Pict;  to  which  in  the  Hoianau  is  added  the  other  epithet,  black,  brithwyr  du.  Equi- 
valent to  this  was  Brych  or  Brech  in  British,  Brec  and  Breac  in  Erse,  speckled,  party- 
coloured.  I  have  intimated  above  (p.  1 1 1,  n.),  that  Agned  Bregion,  i.e.  Brechion,  plural 
of  Brech,  was  meant  by  the  Britons  for  Agnetum  Pictorum ;  and  Brechin,  an  episcopal 
city  of  the  Picts,  civitns  Brechne  of  the  Pict.  Chron.,  is  from  the  same  root.  So  also  is 
the  name  of  Brychan  or  Brecanus,  the  legendary  founder  of  Brechinia,  Brecheiniawg, 
or  Brecknock,  whether  in  the  like  sense  or  not.  The  Manks  were  not  only  an  Irish 
people,  but  probably  were  Crutheni,  or  Ulster  Picts.  For  the  rebellion  of  the  Ulto- 
nians  against  Cormac  Mac  Art,  in  236,  was  chiefly  of  the  Cruithniu  under  Fiach 
Araidhe;  and  in  254  he  expelled  a  portion  of  the  Ultonians,  and  gave  their  territory 
to  his  son,  Cairbre  Riadha,  from  whom  the  Dal-Riadan,  Dalreudin,  or  Rout  district 
(the  cradle  of  Scotland)  took  name.  From  this  act  he  was  surnamed  Ulfada.  or 
Banisher  of  the  Ultonians;  and  they  settled  themselves  in  Manand  or  the  Isle  of  Man. 
Tighern.  in  annis.  That  island,  of  whose  early  and  Celtic  history  scarce  another  vestige 
remains  (see  above,  No.  III.  p.  vii.),  may  be  regarded  as  having  been  a  colony  of  Cru- 
thenians,  driven  out  of  North  Ulster  by  the  Riadans.  Mervyn,  King  of  Man,  whom 
Welsh  pedigrees  have  derived  in  the  female  line  from  the  princes  of  Powys,  and  who 
married  Essyllt",  heiress  of  Conan  Tindaethwy,  King  of  Wales,  is  called  in  the  inter- 
polated Hoianau,  st.  36,  Mervyn  Vn/ch  o  dir  Manau,  not  by  reason  of  freckles  on  his 
skin,  but  as  claiming  a  descent  from,  or  reigning  over,  Picts;  for  the  Gwasgargerdd, 
equally  ascribed  to  Merlin  the  Calidonian,  speaks  of  the  "  brithwyr  du  o  Manau," 
black- spotted  men  of  the  Isle  of  Man.  Man  hath  scarce  any  history  until  the  ascen- 
dancy of  the  northern  vikingar.  But  a  great  annalist  speaks  of  Picts  in  that  country, 
in  711,  more  than  100  years  before  Mervyn  Vrych.  Strages  Pictorum  inv  camjio 

Manandw,  ubi  Findgaine  Mac  Deleroith  immature,  morte  jacuit Tig.  in  711,  p.  225, 

O'Con. 

Ogygia,  p.  303.      The  years  850,  8;jl,  witnessed       pirates. 

bloody    battles  in   Leinster  between    the    Finn-  u  In  whose  right  he  ruled  Wales,  A.  D.   818- 

gent  and  Dubhgent,  of  which  the  last  was  con-  843  ;  but  when,  and  through  what  inheritance, 
tinued  for  three  days  and  nights.  —  Ann.  Ulton.  he  became  king  of  Man,  is  not  apparent.  His 
The  Danes  -who  afterwards  ravaged  Stathclyde  pedigree  in  the  male  line  from  Beli  Mawr  may  be 
and  North  Wales  were  called  by  the  Britons  the  a  sheer  fable,  See  Powel's  and  Lloyd's  Cam- 
gwyr  duon  and  paganiaid  duon,  although  their  bria,  p.  22. 

language  has  not  the  word  finn.      Brut  y  Saeson,  '  Campaign  or  battle,  vide  Ducange,  in  campus, 

Tywysogion,  &c.,  A.  D.  870-900,  pp.  479-484.        num.  5,  6,  7. 

But  they  took  the  phrase  from  Ireland,  whose  "  The  Ulster  Annals,  at  781,   speak   of  Drust 

Osttnan  kings  of  Dublin  probably  sent  forth  these       the    Eighth    as     "rex    Pictorum    citra    Monot," 

f  2 


xliv 

O'Con.  In  the  Pictish  catalogue,  (see  above,  sect,  xxxi.)  we  read,  "  Guidid  Gaeth 
Hreatnack,"  a  Briton,  but  the  Pictish  Chronicle  gives  Guidid  Gaed  Brecah;  which 
variations  do  all  resolve  themselves,  one  way  or  another,  into  Pictus.  Nectan 
the  First  has  several  surnames,  such  as  Kellemot  and  Thalthamoth;  but  most 
usually,  and  in  the  Pictish  Chronicle,  Morbet.  In  this  Irish  document  that  un- 
known word  is  altered,  and,  I  believe,  corrected,  thus,  Neactun  Mor  Breac*,  the 
Great  Pict.  The  case  of  Domhnall  styled  Brcac,  Brec,  Brie  (Dovenald  Varius  of 
Cron.  Reg.  Scot.  Innes,  ii.  789),  prince  of  the  Dalriads  or  Scots,  and  son  of  Achy,  is 
full  of  obscurity.  He  bore  the  surname  whilst  living;  as  Adamnan  says,  '•  temporibus 
nostris  ....  Domnallo  Brecco"  &c.  iii.  cap.  v.  At  his  father's  death  in  622  he  was 
adult,  and  fell  in  the  battle  of  Strath-Cawn  or  Ceirinn,  fought  against  Houn  king  of 
the  [Strathclyde]  Britons,  in  December  642.  —  Tighern.  in  anno.  Yet  Ulster  Annals, 
after  stating  the  death  of  plain  Domhnall  (not  D.  Bruce  as  in  Tig.)  at  A.  D.  642,  say,  at 
A.  D.  685,  "  Talorg  Mac  Aicthaen  et  Domhnall  Jjrecc  Mac  Eachadh  mortui  suut."  The 
name  Talorg  is  exclusively  Pictish ;  and  the  author  seems  as  if  he  considered  D.  Brec,  sun 
lit  Achy,  to  be  such  also.  How  he  recovered  the  crown  of  his  father  (which  had  passed 
into  another  family  after  the  overthrow  of  his  brother  by  the  Irish  Cruithnich),  and 
what  connexions,  either  Pictish  or  Cruthenian,  he  may  have  had  in  the  female  line,  is 
matter  buried  in  the  darkness  of  those  times  and  countries.  But  he  fought  at  Moira  in 
conjunction  with  Suibne,  prince  of  theCrutheni,  and  had  fought  in  621  conjointly  with 
Conall,  son  of  Suibne.  If  any  credit,  be  given  to  his  longevity,  and  his  dying  together 
with  this  Tulorg,  his  crown  must  have  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  extranet  of  Adam- 
nan  (iii.  5),  i.  e.  strangers  to  the  lineage  of  Aidan  M'Gabhran,  at  or  about  the  time  of 
his  defeat  in  642,  by  abdication  and  flight  into  Pietland,  not  by  death'.  Broicne, 
broice,  broicean,  are  words  of  the  same  sense  as  breac  or  brec,  and  may  explain  the 
appellation  of  Broichan,  the  magus  of  the  Picts.  Adamn.  ii.  33.  The  Cruithnieh  or 
Cruthenii,  who  occupied  the  southern"  portion  of  the  Daln'araidhe  in  Ulster,  and  those 

others 

which  obscure  phrase  may  signify  *'  king  of  Pict-  although  rrych  may,  perhaps,  be  the  true  reading 
land,  Man  excepted ;"  putting  Monot  for  Monffido.  of  them,  I  cannot  discover  in  those  extremely 
Sed  quaere.  remarkable  passages  of  Aneurin  any  allusion  to 

*  The  other  form,  Morbet,  should,  perhaps,  the  battle  of  Strath-cawn  and  death  of  Dovenaldus 
be  spelt  Mor-bret,  Mor-breat ;  as  in  the  preced-  Varius,  king  of  Scots.  There  also  are  difficulties 
ing  homonymes  of  Brecah  and  Breatnach.  in  supposing  the  author  to  have  composed  them 

y  As  to  the  two  lines  of  the  Gododin,  vv.  743,  so  late  as  641.  The  connexion  of  the  names  Dyvn- 
872,  wal  and  Domhnall  is  also  unascertained. 

"  A  phen  Dyvnwal  a  breirh  brein  a'i  cnoyn.                       '  Said  to  have  included  Down  and  the  southern 
A  pl.en  Dyvynwal  rrych  brein  a'i  cnoyn,"  parts  of  Antrim See  Ur.  O'Conor  in  Tighernach. 


xlv 

others  who  were  in  Meath  and  Connaught,  as  well  as  those  of  Fortren  Mor  in  Britain, 
are  called  from"  cnith,  form,  aspect,  countenance,  colour,  complexion;  and  so  the 
phrase  would  resemble  our  men  of  colour,  or  may  signify  men  adorned  with  figures. 
Among  the  Dalaradian  Cruthnich  we  hear  of  king  Eochaid  Laeb  or  Laib,  which 
Colgan  renders  Maculatus;  of  king  Aodh  Brec,  who  was  slain  in  563,  with  the  seven 
Cruthenian  clan-kings,  by  the  Hy-Niall  of  Ulster,  "  vii  righ  Cruithneach  im  Ard 
mbrecc,"  Cenfaelad  cit.  Tigh. ;  and  of  Aodh  cognomento  Niger;  likewise  we  read  of 
Congal  M'Mealean  faith  Brecc  Fortren,  Ann.  Ult.  724;  which  were  not  improbably 
tribule,  rather  than  personal,  appellations,  and  analogous  to  Nectan  Mor  Breac.  (,)f 
these  and  other  such  epithets  more  will  be  said  in  treating  of  this  practice,  as  a  super- 
stition cherished  in  the  ages  subsequent  to  its  desuetude. 

But  above  all  the  name  of  Bruide  or  Brudi,  borne  by  so  many  kings  of  the 
Gwyddyl  Fichti,  deserves  observation;  because  it  once  was  official  or  titular,  and 
common  to  all,  like  Pharaoh  or  Augustus.  The  Pictish  Chronicle  says,  upon  the 
name  of  Brudi  the  First,  "  a  quo  triginta  Brude  regnaverunt  Hiberniam  et  Albaniam 
per  1 50  annorum  spatium ;"  and  adds  their  private  or  personal  names.  Now  that 
national  name,  spelt  in  this  and  other  Irish  works  Bruide,  elsewhere  Bruidi,  Brudi, 
Bridius,  &c.,  is  but  the  Erse  word,  bruid,  spina,  quodvis  cuspidatum;  bruid,  confodere; 
bruid,  vulnus  gladio  vel  cultro  factum.  What  Isidorus  Hispalensis  questionably  says  of 
the  name  Scoti  may  be  truly  said  of  this  name :  "  propria  lingua  nomen  habent  a  picto 
corpore,  eo  quod,  aculeis  furreis  cum  atramento,  variarum  iigurarum  stigmate  annotan- 
tur."  This  was  expressed  in  the  title  Bruide,  Acu-punctus,  the  Pict,  a  name  common 
to  a  long  series  of  kings,  and  never  wholly  disused.  If  these  thirty  kings  reigned  over 
Albania,  there  will  then  be  a  double  list  of  the  kings  of  Fortren ;  which  absurdity  has 
induced  me  to  analyse  these  statements.  Bruide  the  First  is  the  fifteenth  king;  and  in 
thirty  kings,  counted  from  him,  there  occurs  not  one  Bruide.  But  counting  again  from 

Talorc 

p.  96,  u.  7  ;  Mr.  O'Donovanin  Magh  Rath,  p.  '.]9,  Inhabitants,  p.  139.  An  elegant  colony,  and  a 
note.  probable  theory.  But  unluckily  the  senders,  i.e. 
"See  Dr.  Todd's  note  above,  No.  II.,  pp.  v.  vi.  the  Picts  of  Fortren  Mor,  were  Cruithnigh  as 
Yet  a  modern  author  has  been  found  to  imagine,  well  as  the  others,  and,  therefore,  must  also  have 
that  the  name  is  for  cruitineach,  hump-backed.  been  "crump-shouldered  or  humpy  people!"  Tin- 
To  meet  the  absurdity  of  a  nation  of  hump-backs,  essay  here  cited  contains  many  judicious  remarks. 
it  is  supposed  that  Daln'araidhe  was  a  sort  of  Rut  its  author,  like  others,  has  missed  the  fun- 
hospital,  whither  the  Picts  sent  "  the  infirm  and  damental  fact,  that  the  Irish,  being  a  British  peo- 
deformed  inhabitants  of  Argyle,  to  make  room  for  pie,  were,  as  such,  a  Pict  people, 
the  efficient  Irish  troops." — T.  Wood' s  Primitive 


xlvi 

'J'alorc  III.  the  forty-sixth  king,  the  third  is  Bruide ;  from  him  the  fifth  is  Bruide ;  from 
him  again,  the  fifth;  from  him,  the  second;  from  him,  the  fourth;  and  lastly,  from  him, 
the  eleventh.  Thus,  when  it  was  merely  a  man's  name,  we  find  it  recurring  occasionally ; 
but  when  it  was  titular  to  all  alike,  we  find  it  entirely  absent.  Which  evinces  that  the 
words,  "lliberniam  .  .  .  spatium"  are  superfluous  and  false,  as  well  as  thethirtyb  pri- 
vate names;  and  that  these  thirty  Bruides  are  simply  the  kings  of  Pictland  from  Brudi 
Bout  to  Talorc  III.  For  it  is  obvious  that  men  must  be  enumerated  by  their  names, 
but  need  not  be,  and  frequently  are  not,  by  additions  of  course;  as  we  must  say 
Trajanus,  Iladrianus,  &c.,  but  need  seldom  add  Augustus.  The  thirty  Bruides  end  just 
fourteen  years  before  the  accession  of  Bruide  II.,  that  is  to  say,  of  the  first  king  by 
name,  and  not  by  title,  so  called ;  and  he  was  their  first  Christian  king,  baptized  by  St. 
Columkille.  We  may  therefore  suppose  that  it  ceased  to  be  the  regal  appellation 
when  the  increase  of  civility  and  approaches  of  Christianity  had  caused  the  actual 
practice  upon  which  it  was  founded  to  fall  into  desuetude;  and  may  accordingly  con- 
jecture, that  Cealtraim  Bruide,  who  died  in  543,  and  was  the  last  of  the  thirty,  was 
also  in  fact  the  latest  rex  ncu  punctus.  In  almost  all  moral  concerns  the  real  l>e<nn- 

1  O 

nings  precede  the  historical  commencement;  and  as  Palladius  himself  went  ad  Scotof 
in  Christum  credent&f,  so  must  Columkille  ad  Pictox.  For  even  if  he  could  have 
wrought  what  he  did  upon  matter  unpredisposed,  date  and  situation  shew  the  proba- 
bility that  Christian  influences  must  have  oozed  into  Pictland  from  Caledonia  and 
Strathclyde,  from  Argathelia,  and  from  Dalaradia  in  Ulster. 

We  now  come  to  a  brief  but  important  corollary.     The  record  of  thirty-six  kings 

anterior 

''  These  consisted  of  fifteen  names,  two  of  which  may  hint  to  us  another  circumstance,  viz.,  that 

seem  to  be  lost,  each  followed  by  a  repetition  of  (in   the  days  of  the  thirty    Hruides,   or    painted 

the  same  with  Ur  prefixed,  as  Pant,  Ur-p;:nt,  Leo,  Picts)  the  Ur-bruide,  during  the  life  of  his  prin- 

Ilr-leo.      Up    in  Gaelic  and  Erse  is  new,  fresh,  cipal,    bore  bis  name,  with  the  tanaistic  prefix, 

young,  again,  a  second  time;  allied  to  lap,  after,  instead  of  his  own,  when  he  assumed  the  primary 

succeeding.      RIT  up,   a   new  kin;; Stewart's  crown.      The  fictitious  character  of  these  names 

Exodus,   cit.  Armstrong.      It  is  obvious  to  con-  appears,  not  only  from  the  external  history,  but 

jecture  that  Ur-pant  was  the  Tanist  of  Pant,  and  from  the  two  first  of  them;   one  of  which  is  the 

so  Ur-bruide  of  his  Bruide.      As  tanist  was  used  Anglo-Saxon  name  Penda  (see  Tighern.  in  6'31, 

without  limitation   in  the   sense    of  second,   the  639,   63(1),  and  the  other  is  the   British  name 

tanaistic  battle  or  tanaistic  captivity,   for  the  se-  Llew. 

cond  battle  or  captivity  (see  Tighern.  in  495  and  ''  It  was  the  same  in  the  north  of  Europe,  and 

980),  so,  convcrselv,  the  secondary  king  was  the  the   accounts    of  those  qtii  ante  religionem  lege 

tanist  of  the  primary,  his  actual  coadjutor,  and  rec eptam  in  vcruin.  Deum  crediderunt,  may  be  read 

successor  designate.      This  curiously  formed  list  in  Olaf  Tryggvason,  cap.  cxx.  et  seq. 


xlvii 

anterior  to  Drvist  M'Erp,  in  414,  is  of  slender  authority,  and  tinctured  with  manifest 
fable;  and  the  historical  sera  is  there,  upon  solid  grounds,  considered  to  begin.  But 
the  first  king  in  that  series  is  Cruthne  or  Cruidne,  which  is  equivalent  to  Bruide,  and 
conveys  the  idea  of  tinctus  or  pictus,  as  the  other  of  punctus.  Therefore  King  Cruthne 
and  the  first  titular  Bruide  are  identical ;  and  if  there  were  thirty-one  such  Bruides, 
that  is  thirty  after  the  Bruide  called  Bout,  it  is  rather  identity  of  proposition  than  an 
inference  to  say,  that  there  were  thirty-one  Cruthnes.  Mr.  Pinkerton's  just  rediic- 
tion  of  the  Bardic  Pictish  reigns  to  the  standard  of  the  Irish,  Northumbrian,  and 
historical  Pictish  reigns,  yields  the  dates  (approximately  correct)  of  A.  D.  28  for 
Cruthne,  and  A.  D.  208  for  Brudi  Bout.  Consequently  either  Bruide  I.  must  go  up 
to  Cruthne  in  A.  D.  28,  or  Cruthne  must  come  down  to  him  in  208;  and,  as  bardic 
mythi  exalt  antiquity,  we  shall  choose  the  latter.  Therefore  it  seems,  that  all  the 
kings  anterior  to  Brudi  Bout  are  additions  ;  that  he  was  the  planter  of  the  Gwyddyl 
Fichti  or  Vecturiones  in  Albany ;  and  that  Cealtraim,  the  last  ex  qfficio  Bruide,  was 
only  the  thirty-first  Vecturion  king.  That  places  the  transit  of  the  Cruithncchan  or 
Gwyddyl  Ficht  colony  from  Ireland  circa  A.  D.  208,  in  the  reign  of  Con  of  the  Hun- 
dred Battles,  and  nearly  half  a  century  before  Cormac  Ulfada  drove  the  Cruthenians 
out  of  North  Ulster  in  Manniam  insulam  et  Hebrides. — Ogygia,  p.  335.  It  is  sixty- 
seven  years  (or  some  trifle  less)  after  Claudius  Ptolemy  described  the  Caledonians  of 
the  Du-Caledon  sea  as  stretching  from  Lake  Lomond  to  the  Firth  of  Moray;  the  iden- 
tical year  in  which  the  war  of  Severus  against  the  painted  Maeatie  and  Calcdones  began ; 
and  159  years  before  the  war  of  Count  Theodosius  against  the  Du-Caledons  and  Vec- 
turions.  By  this  reckoning,  the  Cruthnich  of  the  Daln'araidhe  will  have  crossed  over  to 
North  Britain  some  290  years  before  their  next  neighbours  of  the  Dalriadha,  or  Routs  of 
Antrim  and  Coleraine  (being  the  Gwyddyl  Coch  of  the  Welsh),  followed  their  track 

and  planted  their  settlement  of  Argathelia  (Airer-Gaedhal)  or  Scots See  Cambrensis 

Eversus,  ix.  p.  74.  This  accords  with  the  order  of  events,  as  laid  down  in  the  Duan 
Albanach,  and  in  this  book  "  Of  the  Cruithnigh,"  by  which  Britain  was  first  held  by 
Britus  (i.e.  the  Britons),  then  by  Clanna  Nemidh  (the  Belgians?),  and  "  the  Cruith- 
nigh possessed  it  after  them,  having  come  from  Ireland,  [and]  the  Gaedil  after  that, 
that  is,  the  sons  of  Eire  sou  of  Eochaidh."  Sec  above,  p.  127. 

The  advent  and  departure  of  the  Cruthnich  in  the  days  of  Ilcrimon,  son  of  Milesius, 
]  ooo  years  B.  C.,  which  is  a  legend  as  ancient  as  Cormac  Mac  Cuillenan  in  the  ninth 
century,  is  a  pure  mythology,  and  has  made  improper  use  of  Pictish  materials  by 
bringing  into  the  remotest  origins  those  names  of  Drostan  and  Nectan,  which  did  not 
come  up  among  the  Picts  before  the  sera  of  Ninia  and  Patrick.  The  fact,  that  the 
Picts  of  Albany  came  over  from  Ireland,  is  about  the  only  one  it  yields  us.  But 

their 


xlviii 

their  migration  was  evidently  from  the  opposite  and  near  coast  of  Ulster,  where  they 
had  their  abode.  This  is  not  only  matter  of  reason,  but  of  tradition.  The  text  of 
the  Colbertine  Chronicle  of  Picts  asserts,  that  the  thirty  Bruides  ruled  Hibernia  and 
Albania,  but  that  means  the  kingdom  of  Ulster,  not  all  Ireland  ;  and  for  evidence 
thereof  we  read,  in  Lib.  Ballimote,  that  Bruide  Cint  (who  was  thirteenth  of  the 
thirty)  was  King  of  Ulster.  —  Ap.  Piukerton,  i.  502-504..  Nor  are  we  in  the  position 
to  affirm,  that  the  Cruithne  kingdoms  of  Daln'araidhe  and  Fortren  Mor  did  not  thus 
long  continue  to  be  one,  after  the  fashion  in  which  Celtic  monarchies  had  unity.  Since 
in  590,  at  the  Synod  of  Dromceat,  we  find  Aodh,  the  son  of  Ainmire,  asserting,  and 
then  waiving  at  St.  Columkille's  intercession,  the  sovereignty  of  the  kings  of  Erin 
over  the  Dalriads  of  Britain.  "  The  Irish  authorities,"  says  Mr.  Petrie,  "  make  Gede 
also  King  of  the  Irish  and  Scottish  [North  British]  Picts;"  and,  though  they  absurdly 
make  him  son  to  King  Ollaiuh  Fodla,  their  tradition  supposes  the  two  Cruthenias  to 
have  once  been  one  kingdom.  —  On  Tara  Hill,  pp.  153,  1  54.  We  read  in  the  present  work 
that  one  Cruithnechau  M^Lochit  from  Erin,  meaning  of  course  the  chief  of  the  Irish 
Crutheni  (see  p.  127),  ilew  to  the  succour  of  those  of  Fortren  against  the  Saxons  (scec.  5 
vel  infra),  which  (not  to  mention  its  agreeing  well  with  their  allegiance  to  one  Bruide  or 
Crutlme)  argues  them  to  be  the  same  people.  Subsequent  history  shews  them  engaged 
in  bloody  wars  against  Argathelia,  under  its  kings  Eochaidh  Buidhe  and  Kenneth  Gear, 
but  not  against  Fortren.  It  is  obscurely  intimated  that  Cormac  Mac  Art,  having  in  254 
expelled  the  Crutheni  from  the  Routs  of  Antrim  into  Man  and  the  Hebrides,  did  in  258 
pursue  the  war  into  Albany  and  exact  an  acknowledgment  of  his  authority  —  Ogy- 
gia  iii.  cap.  Ixix.  ;  Ogygia  Vindicated,  pp.  162,  163.  If  this  were  so  it  would  increase 
the  probabilities  that  the  Cruthenian  kingdom  of  Fiach  Araidhe,  slain  by  Cormac,  and 
the  infant  colony  of  Fortren  or  Pictish  Albany,  were  not  reputed  nationally  distinct. 
One  of  the  paradoxes  once  accredited  was,  that  the  Cruithne  or  Cruthnich,  de- 
scendants'1 of  Hir  the  Milesian  through  Fiach  Araidhe,  King  of  Ulster  in  A.  D.  240", 
were  at  no  time,  in  fact,  any  Cruithne  at  all  ;  but  were  so  called  because  the  said 
Fiach  was  remotely  descended  from  Loncada,  wife  of  Conall  Kearnach  circa  B.  C.  12, 
and  daughter  to  one  Eochaid  Eaehbheoil  a  Pict  of  North  Britain  or  of  Man.  — 
Ogygin,  iii.  pp.  190,  278-279.  It  may  be  remarked  that  those  Dalaradians,  or  men 
of  Araidhe,  who  were  not  Cruthenians  (see  Tertia  Vita  Patricii,  cap.  58  ;  C.  O'Conor 
in  Tighern.  p.  96;  Lanigan,  Eccl.  Hist.  vol.  i.  p.  218),  should  seem  equally  connected 
through  Fiach  with  this  Eochaid.  But  if  the  historian  of  the  Ogygia  could  believe  that 


*  That  is,  ijvoud  their  princes  or  chieftains. 

"  So  O'Flaherty.      Tighernach  places  his  death  in  236. 


xlix 

a  nation  could  be  called  Men  of  Colour,  or  Men  /if  Figures  and  Devices  (Picts)  during 
a  matter  of  600  years,  for  no  other  reason  than  because  the  chieftain,  said  to  have 
founded  their  community,  traced  his  origin,  and  that  at  an  interval  of  two  centuries 
and  a  half,  from  the  daughter  of  a  Pictish  subject,  he  must  have  been  a  logician 
callous  to  the  non  causa  pro  causa.  Were  the  founders  of  the  Connaught  Cruthe- 
niansf,  and  of  divers  others,  also  descended  in  the  eighth  generation  from  a  Pictish 
lady  ?  This  is  but  a  sample  of  that  bulk  of  lies  with  which  Fintan  and  other  bards 
of  the  sixth  century  fed  the  awakened  curiosity,  rising  pride,  and  unbounded  credulity 
of  their  countrymen.  It  is  so  far  germane  to  the  legend  of  Heremon  and  the  Cruth- 
nich,  that  it  dissembles  the  condition  of  the  ancient  Irish,  and  assumes  that  people 
not  to  have  themselves  been  painted,  neither  all  nor  some.  But  such  is  neither  the 
reason,  nor  is  it  the  fact  of  the  case. 

Ireland  was  peopled  mainly,  if  it  was  not  exclusively,  from  Britain,  in  the  times 
before  history.  But  the  woad-staining  was  general  in  Britannia;  throughout  all 
Britain  (omnes  Britanni)  in  Caesar's  time,  and  throughout  all  free  Britain  in  Severus's 
time.  Therefore  it  is  apparent,  that  Ireland  should  have  been  colonized  and  possessed 
by  tribes  delighting  in  such  adornment.  So  that  Dr.  Lanigan,  when  he  said  "  how 
any  of  those  Crutheni  or  Picts  came  to  be  settled  in  Ireland  is  not  easy  to  discover," 
should  rather  have  set  himself  to  discover  how  any  others  but  Crutheni  could  have 
come  thither.  Ancient  writers  neither  say  that  the  Irish  were  painted,  nor  that  they 
were  not;  until  we  come  to  the  days  of  Valentiniun  the  First,  or  rather  of  Julian, 
where  the  mention  of  Scoti  et  Picti  may  be  thought  by  some  to  insinuate  that  the 
former  were  not  so.  But  Julius  Agricola  did  report  thus  much  of  the  Hiberni,  that 
"  ingenia  ndtusque  hominum  non  multuin  a  Brittanuia  differunt." — Tacit.  Agric.  cap. 
xxiv.  And  the  usage  in  question  was  so  far  the  most  conspicuous  cidtus,  of  any  that 
the  Britons  used,  as  to  make  these  oblique  words  little  different  from  direct  averment. 
But  when  the  dry  tale  of  Ireland's  colonization  in  British  coracles  was  replaced  by  the 
romantic  and  manifold  impostures  of  Fintan  the  immortal,  and  all  that  school,  its  in- 
separable adjuncts  of  course  perished  with  it. 

Though  we  must  infer  the  existence  of  this  practice,  the  chronology  of  its  gradual 
disuse  is  lost;  as  indeed  are  nearly  all  such  real  facts,  ill  compensated  with  tales  of 
Ogygian  date  and  Herculean  audacity.  Various  causes  of  desuetude  may  easily  be 
imagined: — I.  The  example  of  such  desuetude,  and  of  civility,  offered  by  all  Britain 

soutli 

'  It  should  be  remembered  that  the  pretended       real  beginnings  assignable  to  the  Gaedhil  Picts  in 
Lonncada,  that  woad-stained  Helen  of  rape  and        Alban,    viz.,   circiter  A.  D.  208,  and  yet  longer 
war,  flourished  some  two  centuries  before    the       before  those  of  the  Manks  Cruithne,  viz.,  2L4. 
IRISH  ARCH.  SOC.   id.  g 


1 

south  of  the  walls.  II.  That  knowledge  of  other  nations  and  manners,  in  which  the 
Irish  of  the  piratical  age  must  have  exceeded  their  stationary  progenitors.  III.  The 
gradual  change  wrought  by  the  proximity  of  a  fresh  moral  power,  working  a  doubt 
or  disregard  of  old  things  before  the  adoption  of  the  new  ones;  as  we  see  Brahminism 
shaken,  though  not  abolished,  and  its  suttees  dying  away.  In  these  ways,  or  in  some 
of  them,  it  came  about  that  the  Niallian  marauders  were  distinct  in  appearance  from 
the  Ducalidon  Cymmry,  and  Vccturion  G  \vyddyl;  while  the  self-same  cause  (viz.  the 
desuetude  elsewhere)  which  dubbed  the  Caledonians  Picti,  had  dubbed  those  Dalara- 
dians  and  some  other  tribes  Crutheni.  The  conquest  of  Ulster  by  Cormac  O'Cuin,  son 
of  Art,  may  be  regarded  as  an  epoeh  in  the  decline  of  that  custom,  as  his  reign  forms 
an  epoch  in  the  general  civilization  of  his  country. 

Irish  history  and  mythology,  when  analyzed,  are  not  really  in  any  other  story. 
Ireland  peopled  Fortren  with  Cruthenians.  East  Ulster  was  always  in  part  occupied 
by  them  ;  "  the  Cruthenians  in  Uladli  and  Moy-Cobha." — Ancient  Topogr.  from 
Hooks  of  Glendalough  and  Lecan,  by  C.  O'Conor,  Sen.,  in  Coll.  llib.  iii.  672.  And 
there  were  others,  less  known,  in  the  parts  of  Connaught  near  Boyle.  "  Conaght,  first 

called  Olnemacht the  Cruthenians,  or  painted  men,  in  Moy-Hai,  extending 

from  Loch  Ke  to  Bruiol,  and  to  the  Shannon."  —  Ibid.  The  royal  province  of  Meath 
also  contained  a  real  toparehy  of  Crutheni,  for  it  is  said  in  Tigh.  A.D.  666,  "  Eochaidli 
larllaith  ri  Cruithne  Midhi  inortuus  est."  Again,  other  Crutheni  held  a  portion  of 
the  diocese  of  Derry,  where  the  district  of  Dun-Cruthninia,  since  called  Ardmagilligan, 
and  St. Beoadh's  ancient  episcopal  church  of  Dun-Cruthen,  or  Dnn-Crnithne,  nowDun- 
crnn,  weresituate.  See  Vita  Septima  Palrieii  in  Trias  Thanm.  \>.  146;  U'Donell,  Vita 
Colum.  i.e.  99;  and  Colgait  in  eund.  pp.  451,  494:  Marty  ml.  Dungall.  cit.  ibid. ; 
S.  Beatus  in  A.  8S.  llib.  viii.  Mart.  p.  562.  Which  makes  several8  recorded  1'ictlands 
in  Erin,  besides  any  others  of  which  the  record  may  have  perished,  and  independently 
of  the  mythus  of  the  Tcmorian  Picts. 

That  mythus  is  of  a  large  import.  It  professedly  belongs  to  the  tirst  origins  of 
the  existing  Irish  people.  It  shews  you  the  Ciuthnieli  powerful  in  Erin  in  Ilerimon's 
own  days,  winning  his  battles,  and  preserving  him  from  his  enemies;  and  afterwards 
made  to  evacuate  Ireland  under  an  agreement,  in  order  that  they  might  not  obtain 
the,  sovereignty  of  the  island,  •'  that  they  might  not  make  battle  for  Teamhair." 
Yet  their  six  chiefs'1,  under  Drostan  or  Trosdan  the  Druid,  remained,  and  received 

grants 

B  Any  of  which,   perhaps   the  last-mentioned,        Tulach  Dubhplas  in  Tirconnell. 
may  have  given  birth   to   Churitamis,    surnamecl  ''  So   Keating,  from  Psalter  of  Cashel.      This 

Cnithnechanus,    who    baptized    St.   Columba  at       work  says,  "  six  of  them  remained."  See  p.  125. 


li 

grants  of  land  in.  the  Campus  Bregensis',  Moigli  Breagha,  or  Brcag-mhuigh,  whereon 
Tara  was  situated.  Strange,  that  they  were  banished  lest  they  should  possess  the 
Hill  of  Tara,  and  yet  were  left  in  possession  of  the  Plain  of  Tara.  It  appears  through 
clouds  of  fable,  that  Tara  was  once  their's,  'femora  or  Teamhair  Breagh  a  seat  of 
painted  Druids,  and  Erin  a  kingdom  of  Piets.  Make  battle  for  Tara!  Why,  the 
Breagh  was  their  own,  and  Teamhair  was  the  work  of  their  hands;  for  they  taught  to 
construct  the  "  fair  and  well- walled  house."  Pharmacy  and  surgery,  navigation  and 
agriculture,  were  from  them.  But  for  them  there  was  neither  idolatry,  necromancy, 
nor  divination ;  and  Druidism,  it  is  said,  was  of  the  Picti.  But  for  them,  no  composition 
of  "  bright  poems;"  and  bardism  was  of  the  Picti. — See  p.  144.  By  another  tale  the  -Mur 
Ollamhan  of  Tara,  and  all  its  arts  and  sciences,  were  ascribed  to  Achy  Mac  Fiach, 
styled  the  Ollave  of  Ireland,  or  Ollamh  Fodla.  And  this  king,  and  his  six  sons  and 
grandsons,  were  called  the  "  seven  Cruithnech  kings  that  ruled  over  Erin." — See  the 
entry  in  Tigh.  A.  D.  172.  The  original  Cruthenians  of  Temora  were  the  authors  of 
every  art  whereof  Milesian  Erin  could  boast  the  rudiments.  We  read  that  the  first  roval 
adultery  in  Ireland  was  committed  by  Tea  (daughter  of  Lughaidh,  and  wife  of  Here- 
mon)  from  whom  the  name  Temora  is  mythically  derived,  with  Gede  Olguthach  the 
Pict. — Amcrgin  on  Tara,  eit.  Petrie  on  Tara,  p.  130.  Thus  far  the  Milesians  and  Cru- 
thenians are  kept  distinct.  But  Ileremon  and  Gede,  husbands  of  one  wife,  were  also 
fathers  of  the  same  three  children;  whence  Mr.  Petrie  infers  their  identity — Ibid, 
p.  153.  Now  this  Gede  Olguthach  is  the  second  king  of  Picts,  Cruthue's  successor, 
in  the  Nomina  Reg.  Pict.,  Innes,  ii.  798;  and  alsok  in  the  Pictish  Chronicle.  Therefore 
Ileremon  seems  to  identify  himself  with  the  second  king  of  Cruthen-tuath  ;  and, 
Cruthne's  name  being  taken  as  merely  typical,  like  Britain,  first  king  of  Britain, 
Francis  of  France,  Dan  of  Denmark,  &c.,  then  with  the  first.  These  mythical  equi- 
valents resolve  themselves  into  natural  equivalents,  for  whatever  represents  original 
Ireland  must  (if  but  a  corner  of  the  bardic  veil  be  lifted)  disclose  to  us  painted  Ire- 
land. The  exposure  of  the  Crutheniau  my  tin  may  be  completed,  by  adding  that  the 

Ollamh 

'   Breagha,  son  of  Breogan,  from   Brigantium  Teamliair  Ureag  whence  is  it,  tell  O  ye  learned 

or  Betanzos  in   Spain   (Tor  Breogan  of  Keating,  wJ^diTifseparate  from  (/,,/!,•«,>/,.'- 

and  Bregatea  of  Cuan  O'Lochain),  gave  his  name  Sec  Petrie 's  Tara,  p.  131. 

to   the   Moigh    Breagha,    where   Temora    stood,  k  For,  although  there  he  seems  to  stand  ninth, 

upon  Tara  Hill.  This  is  of  a  piece  with  all  the  intervening  seven  are  the  seven  brothers  from 
the  rest.  That  it  was  the  name  of  Temora's  whom  the  seven  provinces  were  called  ;  who  could 
original  possessors  is  implied  in  the  question  neither  in  nature  all  succeed  each  other,  nor  could 
which  the  bard  Fintan  asks,  but  omits  to  an-  any  of  them  bv  Pictish  law  succeed  Cruthne, 
swer,  being  his  sons. 


lii 

Ollatnh  Fodla  and  his  race  were  styled  the  Cruithnech  kings,  because  he  was  son  to 
that  same  Lonncada,  daughter  of  Achy  Eachbheoil,  who  also  stands  godmother  to  the 
Dalarudians,  five,  if  not  seven,  centuries  later!  And,  that  Gede  Ollguthach,  the  father 
of  Ilercmon's  children,  was  the  third  son  of  the  Ollamh,  who  lived  ages  after  Heremon ! 
Tuathal,  in  A.  D.  130,  is  feigned  to  have  been  son  to  Ethnc,  daughter  oflmgheal,  king 
of  Picts,  to  have  been  educated  in  Pictland,  and  to  have  recovered  his  crown  by  aid 

of  Pictish  arms Ogyg.  iii.  cap.  Ixvi. ;   Keating,  p.  213;  Cambrensis  Eversus,  pp.  67, 

68.  Though  some  pretended  that  Temora  was  a  seat  of  monarchy  1200,  if  not  1500 
years  before  him,  he  was  the  earliest  founder  of  Temora1  within  the  purlieus  of  his- 
tory;  and  I  suspect  he  was  once  known  as  the  builder  thereof.  It  gives  colour  to  that 
suspicion  that,  in  the  proverbial  names"1  of  Erin,  in  respect  of  her  principal  kings,  she 
was  called  the  Teach  (House)  of  Tuathal.  With  deference  to  Tigernach  and  others, 
I  would  prefer  to  say  that  historical  tradition  has  its  dawn  in  Tuathal,  A.  D.  130, 
than  in  Cimbaoth,  15.  C.  305.  The  long  previous  anarchy  of  the  Plebeians  or  Kustics, 
Aiteachtuatha,  after  which  the  restored  Tuathal  is  said  to  have  consolidated  the  Pen- 
tarchal  Monarchy,  may  be  no  other  than  that  savage  disunion  out  of  which  the  first 
king  of  Temora  (a  llarald  Hilrfagr  to  Erin)  called  the  Gaelic  tribes;  a  restoration  put 
mythically  for  a  foundation,  in  order  to  support  the  superstructure  of  fabulous  chrono- 
lonry.  Whatever  he  was,  he  was  of  Cruthnechan  blood  and  education.  In  the  Book  of 

O.7 

Lecan,  fol.  14,  imperfectly  cited  by  Vallancey,  Coll.  iv.  2.  p.  2,  after  stating  how  Fintan 
of  portentous  longevity  had  preserved  the  Irish  history,  it  is  added,  that  Tuan  of  Ulster 
"  preserved  it  till  Patrick's  time,  and  Columeille,  and  C'omgall,  and  Finnen,  when  it 
was  written  on  their  knees,  and  on  their  thighs,  and  on  the  palms  of  their  hands;  and  it 
continues  in  the  hands  of  sages,  of  doctors,  and  historians,  and  it  is  on  the  altars  of 
saints  and  righteous  men  from  that  time  down."  This  curious  statement  exhibits  the 
transition  of  the  stigmatical  painting  from  barbarous  adornment  toother  uses",  before 

its 

1  It  was  a  question,  as  early  as  the  sixtli  cen-  not  works:    as  fonn,    land;   i«//i,   land;  criVje//, 

turv,  when  and  where  Teauihair  or  Teiimhuir  ob-  country  ;  «t7i«r//i,  Held.    Clar  Chormaic,  the  table 

tained  its  name.  of  Cormac,  may  allude  to  the  introduction  of  do- 

••  When  was  Teamhair  [called]  Teanihair  ?  niestic  and  sedentary  arts  ;   while  the  Cro  of  Con 

Is  It  with  ParthoUn  of  battles?    Or,"  &c.  &c.  is    of   iin    am],ii;uolis   siSniH.-ati,m.— O'Flahertv, 

It  was  agreed  among  the  ollaves,  that  the   name  Ogygia,    part  i.   p.    11);     Hugh    O'Donnell,    cit. 

was  Milesian  or  Scot  (for  other  appellations  were  ibid. 

provided  for  the  ages  of  the  Tuatha  De  Danann  "  To  which  the  Oghams  might  be  conveniently 

and  their  predecessors),  and  so  the  fable  of  He-  applied.    Etruscan  figures  with  inscriptions  writ- 

remon  and  Tea  was  delivered  to  the  world.  ten    upon   the   thighs    may    be  seen   in  Montfau- 

"'  The  others  mostly   express  natural  objects,  con,  iii.  part  I,  p.  72,  part  2,  p.  2[>8. 


liii 

its  final  abandonment,  and  in  the  persons  of  the  early  Christians;  and,  even  it' incor- 
rect as  to  date  and  persons,  it  cannot  have  proceeded  from  an  author  who  doubted  the 
existence  of  acupuncture  among  the  ancient  Irish. 

There  may  be  another,  though  an  oblique,  way  of  tracing  this  British  costume  in  the 
colony  of  Erin.  A  continual  recurrence  of  surnames  of  colour,  either  unnatural,  mor- 
bid, and  disgusting,  like  glas,  liath,  uaine,  laib,  buid/ie,  or  strange  and  grotesque  ones,  may 
be  accounted  for  in  tribes  that  had  originally  been  coloured  unnaturally,  and  prided 
themselves  therein ;  while  rarely  used  by  others.  But  such  a  solution  is  almost  necessary 
to  account  for  such  squalid  epithets,  when  applied  to  the  greatprimitive  heroes,  and  even 
the  actual  founders,  of  the  nations,  creatures  of  a  proud  fiction,  and  names  not  individual, 
but  typical.  What  origins  ever  boasted  of  an  yEneas  Lividus,  or  Romulus  Discolor, 
Cadrnus  the  Dingy,  or  Inaehus  the  Speckled  ?  But  the  Gaidheal  derive  themselves  from 
Gaodhal  or  Gaidheal,  son  of  Nial  and  Scota.  He  was  constantly  called  Gaidheal  Glas 
because  his  flesh  was  spotted  of  that  colour  (greenish,  or  blueish,  or  livid)  by  a  ser- 
pent's sting. — Keating,  p.  67.  See  Malmura  of  Fahan,  in  App. ;  Gilda  Coemhain,  &(.-. 
Here,  besides  the  vile  epithet,  is  the  very  substance  of  the  fact  in  an  altered  form,  the 
natural  man  turned  to  woad-colour  by  puncture0.  Compare  the  man  Gaidheal  Glux, 
with  the  man  Gaidheal  Ficht  in  the  Cairnech  Legend,  p.  187.  The  captain  of  the  Xeme- 
dians,  of  whom  came  the  Firbolg,  was  Simon  Breac,  Maculis  Distinctus,  or,  as  some  have 
it.  Simon  Varius.  Britan,  the  founder  of  Britain,  derives  his  name  (and  rightly,  1  hmi- 
ginep)  from  brit,  diversicolor;  and  he  was  son  to  Feargus  Leathdearg,  Half-red,  son  of 
Nemedius,  in  whom  the  redness  of  half  his  body  may  have  been  its  natural  floridity, 
as  we  have  observed  in  the  Alban  Scots,  or  Gwyddyl  Coch.  So,  again,  taking  the  red 
colour  for  the  natural,  we  may  form  an  idea  of  king  Lugadh  Kiabhdearg,  or  Red-streak, 
who  was  marked  with  red  circles  round  his  body.  A  Danannian  hero,  son  to  the  Great 
Daghda  himself,  was  Fraoch  Uaine.  A  primitive  Scoto- Scythian  chief,  Ileber  Glun- 
finn,  or  White-knee,  was  celebrated  as  grandfather  to  Faobhar  Glas. — Ogygia,  ii.  p.  67. 
See  Keating,  p.  132.  Some  causes  had  introduced  into  Irish  use  the  strange  name 

Dubhdnleth, 

"  That  a  Druid,  officiating   mystically,    was  a  vv.  18,  49,    confirmed  by  various  considerations, 

serpent,  appears  clearly  enough   in  Cajsar's  ac-  And,  since  desuetude  elsewhere  was  the  cause  of 

count  of  the  ovum  annulment.  such    appellations,    that    name,   Britain   or   Bri- 

'   That  the  bards  had  in  their  Anant,   or  old  than,    should   have     originated    subsequently    tu 

ritual  songs,  the  name  Brithan,  Britannia  (distinct  the  cessation    of  nudity    among   the    (Junls,    ex- 

t'rom  the  fictitious  name  Prydyn  or  Prydain,    i.e.  eepting  'probably)   the    Lemoniun    G;mls    mllc-d 

Pulcheria),  and  derived  it  from  lirith,   painted,  I  Pietones. 
infer  from  the  Gwawdd  Lludd  y  Mawr,  v.  20,  and 


liv 

Dubhdiileth,  Both-halves-black.  In  days  anterior  to  armour",  I  have  no  notion  what  a 
white  knee  is,  except  in  contrast  to  a  coloured  one  ;  nor  can  I  conceive,  otherwise,  of 
a  man  with  one  half  dark,  which  condition  the  contrary  name  Dubhdaleth  implies. 
Jocelyn  of  Furness  tells  us  of  two  places  in  the  Cruthenian  Ardes  of  Ulster,  to  both 
of  which  belongs  the  very  strange  name  of  Dundalethglas,  namely,  Downpatrick,  well 
known  by  that  name,  and  another  hill-fort  in  a  marsh  not  far  distant — Vita  Patric. 
c.  38.  He  interprets  the  name,  two  halves  of  a  glus,  i.  e.  a  fetter,  from  the  broken  bonds 
of  some  prisoners,  whom  an  angel  set  free,  and  conveyed  to  these  two  Duns.  But,  com- 
paring it  with  analogous  names  of  colour,  and  especially  with  Leathdearg,  and  Dubh- 
daleth, I  rather  interpret  Dun  Dalethglas,  Fort  of  the  Entirely  Painted,  the  Dubhda- 
leths,  the  Crutheni  of  Dalaradia;  thus  making  its  sense  equivalent  in  effect  to  that  of 
the  Dun-Cniitlme  in  Derry.  Besides  those  analogies,  its  occurring  twice  in  ancient 
C'ruthenia  favours  the  descriptive  sense,  rather  than  any  historic  allusion.  The  first 
man,  say  the  verses  ascribed  to  Fintan  himself,  who  cleared  Tara  Hill  of  wood,  was 
Liath,  Glaucus  or  Pallidns,  sou  of  Laigin  Leathan-glas.  The  meaning  of  the  sur- 
name, Broad-stainr,  probably  denotes  belts  of  colour  like  those  of  king  Kiabhdearg,  but 
broad  ones.  It  is  easy  but  unnecessary  to  multiply  examples.  The  dingy  colours  ex- 
pressed in  those  various  terms  of  glus,  dubh,  vaine,  Ac.,  were  the  various  tints  imparted 
by  the  woad;  the  cocruleus  color  of  C'a'sar,  the  Ethiopian  tint  of  Pliny,  and  the 
virides  Britanni  of  Ovid.  The  tinted  knee  will  be  best  appreciated  from  the  above- 
cited  statement  in  the  Book  of  Lecan,  that  the  Irish,  both  in  and  after  St.  Patrick's 
days,  had  records  of  facts  "written  on  their  knees."  The  prevailing  idea  of  such 
names  as  I  have  cited  is  as  old  as  any  memorial  we  have  of  the  Piets.  For  of  those 
Caledonians  who  fought  against  Severns,  entirely  naked,  and  tattooed  with  figures  of 
animals,  &c.,  the  only  chieftain  whose  name  has  come  down  to  us  is  Argento-Coxus 
or  Silver-hip;  evidently  so  called  L.y  the  liomans,  because  he  affected  to  leave  his 
hips  unstained. — Dion  Cassias,  lib.  Ixxvi.  p.  1285.  And  the  comparison  of  some  ana- 
logous names  among  the  hero-deities  of  the  Britisli  bards,  will  add  to  their  force. 

Some  observations  are  due  to  the  tradition,  that  the  Pictish  rule  of  succession  to 

the 

'  The  moilern  armorial  surnames,  Glunduibh  land  or  Scottish  Gaelic,  gla*  is  also  a  substan- 

or  Genuniger,  Gluniarn  or  Geimt'erreus,  ( ilun-  tive,  a  green  or  blue  surface),  and  I  know  not 

tradhna  or  Genucorvi,  &c.,  are  quite  beside  the  if  any  objection  thus  arises.  Mrhere  intensity, 

question Vide  O'Conor,  in  Quat.  Mag.  A.  D.  not  extent,  of  colour  is  to  be  measured,  there 

978.  does  not ;  as  in  dubltglas  and  Hathglas.  Changing 

'  Leathan  and  glas  seem  to  be  both  adjectives  broad  into  long,  the  Welsh  Hirlas  exactly  cor- 

in  the  Irish  dialect  of  Gaelic,  (though,  in  High-  responds. 


Iv 

the  crown  arose  out  of  a  treaty  of  marriage  with  ladies  of  the  blood  royal  of  Erin. — - 
Beda,  i.  cap.  1.,  and  the  Irish  documents.  See  also  Polydore  Virgil.  That  rule  was, 
that  in  all  cases  of  doubt  they  should  choose  a  king  in  the  female  line  of  descent,  not 
in  the  male.  It  seems  to  have  been  acted  upon  from  the  beginning  till"  783,  in  the 
latter  years  of  the  kingdom,  to  such  an  extent  that  no  son  stands  recorded  to  have 
succeeded  his  father,  either  immediately,  or  with  intermediates.  The  sixty-ninth  cata- 
logued king,  and  the  twenty-first  Christian,  was  son  to  his  fifth  predecessor.  But  the 
tradition  of  such  a  treaty  is  not  to  be  received  without  much  hesitation. 

The  line  male  can  only  be  legal,  where  nuptia?  patrem  denionstrant,  and  can  only 
be  real  where  marriages  are  held  sacred.  In  Caesar's  time  a  British  woman  had  some- 
times ten  or  a  dozen  husbands  (as  she  called  them),  usually  men  of  the  same  family ; 
and  he  who  had  known  her  as  a  virgin  was  accounted  father  of  all  her  offspring. — 
Pe  Bello  Gall.  i.  cap.  14.  Strabo  had  collected  from  report  that  it  was  no  better  in 
Ireland,  or  rather  that  there  was  no  rule  at  all. — iv.  p.  282.  St.  Jerome,  who  had 
resided  in  Gaul,  and  had  a  slight  knowledge  of  what  he  said,  affirms  it  without  limita- 
tion: "  Scotoruin  natio  uxores  proprias  non  habct  .  .  .  Xulla  apud  eos  conjux  prupria 
est,  sed  ut  cui<[ue  libitum  fucrit  pecudum  more  lasciviunt." — Adv.  Jovin.  lib.  ii. 
torn.  ii.  p.  335.  Verona,  1735.  He  repeats  the  same  thing,  with  inclusion  of  those 
Britons  who  were  called  Atticotti.  "  Scotorum  et  Atticottorum  ritu,  ac  de  liepublicfi 
Platonis,  promiscuas  uxores,  communes  liberos,  habent." — Epist.  69,  <id  Oi'i'u/nnii, 
toni.  i.  ]).  413.  These  reports  may  be  understood  as  limiting  marriage  to  a  possessory 
right,  loosely  observed  and  frequently  dissolved.  But  nations,  of  which  even  rhe- 
toric could  draw  such  pictures,  must  have  been  incapable  of  transmitting  paternal 
inheritances,  and  must  have  lived  under  a  pure  tanistry,  until  the  improvement  of 
manners  began  to  furnish  stronger  presumptions  of  parentage.  The  positive  allegations 
of  sonship,  contained  in  the  dynasties  of  the  Antiquaries  and  Bards,  may  In:  lan- 
guage1 of  Christian  adaptation,  even  after  the  names  have  ceased  to  be  shc.vr  in- 
ventions. The  mother  is  the  wet  nurse  ;  any  other  economy  belongs  to  art  and 
refinement;  and  the  vehement  attachment  of  the  Celtic  tribes  to  their  foster-brothers 


*  Mr.  Pinkerton  says  till  633,  but  it  cloes  not  Dairine  was  ileail,  and  that  nothing  could  console 

s<>  appear  from  the  lists.  liim  but  marriage  with  Fither,  whom  Tnathal  b«- 

'Of  such  adaptation  there  seems  a  flagrant  stowed  upon  him.  When  this  fraud  was  detected, 

instance  in  the  two  daughters  of  Tuathal  Teacht-  Dairine  died  of  vexation  at  his  misconduct,  and 

mar.  The  king  of  Leinster  married  Dairine,  Fither  of  shame  at  the  error  into  which  she  had 

andafterwards  became  desirous  of  the  other  sister,  been  deceived.  Rare  sentimentality  and  tender 

Fither.  So  he  went  to  Temora  and  said  that  nerves  for  A.  I).  1 .')('- hid. 


Ivi 

was,  in  its  oriyin,  simply  fraternal  affection.  The  foster-brother  was  the  only  brother, 
and  the  common  breast  the  only  sure  tie  between  them.  In  the  Mabinogion  we 
remark  the  paucity"  of  allusions  to  marriage,  considered  in  any  other  view  than  as 
the  fact  of  occupancy.  The  Triads  of  Arthur  are  very  peculiar  on  this  head  ;  for 
Triad  109  gives  "  the  three  wives  of  Arthur,  who  were  his  thi-ee  chief  ladies,"  and  no 
proceeds  to  give  his  three  chief  concubines  ;  so  that  the  authors"  of  those  Triads  saw 
reason  to  explain,  and  explain  away,  what  a  wife  meant.  See  also  the  preface  to 
Davydd  ap  Gwilym,  p.  16.  But  the  most  singular  passage  is  that  of  Solinus  on  the 
Hebrides.  "  As  you  go  from  the  foreland  of  Calidonia  (the  Mull  of  Galloway)  towards 
Thyle,  in  two  days'  sail  you  reach  the  islands  of  llebudes,  five  in  number,  of  which 
the  inhabitants  are  unacquainted  with  grain,  and  subsist  on  fish  and  milk.  They  all 
have  but  one  king,  for  they  are  divided  by  narrow  waters  from  each  other.  The  king 
has  nothing  of  his  own,  all  things  belong  to  all.  Fixed  laws  compel  him  to  equity ; 
and,  lest  avarice  should  pervert  him  from  truth,  he  learns  justice  from  poverty,  as 
having  no  private  possessions.  But  he  is  maintained  at  the  public  expense.  No  wife 
is  given  to  him  for  his  own;  but  he  takes  for  his  use,  by  turns,  whatsoever  women 
he  is  inclined  to,  by  which  means  lie  Li  debarred  from  the  wish  and  hope  of  having  sons." 
— Solinus,  cap.  22.  This  account  is  most  important,  as  a  description,  not  of  barbarism 
merely,  but  of  its  polity.  To  prevent  the  evils  of  a  disputed  male  succession,  one 
purely  and  necessarily  female  was  provided.  The  polity  therefrom  resulting  was 
precisely  the  Pictish;  there  no  son  could  stand  in  his  father's  place;  and  in  Pictlaud 
(nearly  to  the  last)  no  son  ever  did.  Of  the  llebudes,  spoken  of  here  as  ftce,  as  well 
a»  by  Ptolemy,  Marcianus,  and  Stephnnus  in  'Ai^orinc,  viz.  Ebuda  i.,  Ebuda  ii.,  lihi- 
eina,  Maleos,  and  Epidium,  the  last  two  are  undoubtedly  Mull  and  Hay.  But  Hay, 
by  Irish  tradition,  was  the  first  seat  of  the  Piets  when  they  left  Erin,  and  the  cradle 
of  the  kings  of  Fortran  Mor.  No  man  can  affirm  from  internal  documents  how  far  the 
Irish  of  A.  1).  208  were  proficients  in  the  art  of  matrimony,  and  their  external  repu- 
tation for  it  was  very  low.  If  the  ancient  laws  ascribed  to  Con  and  Cormac  were  satis- 
factory on  these  points,  it  would  remain  to  shew  them  authentic  and  uninterpolated. 
lint  the  contrary  may  be  interred  from  the  entire  silence  of  Lynch,  when  he  boasts 
of  those  legislators,  in  pp.  157-8,  and  from  his  slight  and  general  answer  to  Giraldus, 

iii.  19. 

"  As  the  beautiful  eclitiun  of  tlii-m  is  from  a  and  greatest  series  lias  "  wives  ;"  but  the  well- 

ladv's  hands,  occasional  reference  to  the  original  known  name  of  (jwenhwyvar  or  Guenever,  as- 

text  is  to  be  recommended.  cril.ed  to  all  three  of  them,  supplies  the  want 

1  The  first  series,  Tr.  59,  merely  savs,  "  the  of  the  word  wife  ;  besides  which  the  next  triad, 

three  chief  ladies  of  Arthur,"  where  the  third  as  in  series  3,  gives  the  three  concubines. 


Ivii 

iii.  19,  as  touching  Pagan  times,  in  p.  155  of  the  C.  E versus.  The  ill-fated  Gynseceum 
of  Cormac  M'Art  was,  probably,  connected  with  some  desire  on  the  part  of  that  able 
man,  to  ennoble  and  purify  the  female  character.  Anecdote  speaks  truer  than 
general  declamation ;  therefore  let  us  hear  the  wife  of  Argentocoxus,  or  Silver-hip, 
the  Pict.  The  empress  Julia  Domna  reproached  her,  that  they  (the  Caledonian 
women),  after  marriage,  cohabited  promiscuously  with  men.  But  she  replied  :  "  We 
satisfy  the  wants  of  nature  much  better  than  you  Romans.  For  we  openly  cohabit 
with  the  bravest  of  men,  and  you  commit  secret  adultery  with  the  vilest."  While  we 
subscribe  to  her  estimate  of  the  merits  of  the  case,  we  cannot  doubt  the  facts  of  it. 
Whosoever  would  too  sanguinely  argue  from  ancient  tales  of  marriages,  wives,  and 
queens,  from  Banba  and  Scota  downwards,  should  bear  in  mind  that  Silver-hip  had  a 
sort  of  wife.  We  know  that  he  had  a  lady  so  called ;  but  we  also  know  what  sort  of  wife 
she  was, — not  by  her  personal  fault,  but  by  avowed  usage  of  her  nation;  and  how  far, 
or  whether  at  all,  her  nuptials  demonstrated  the  father.  The  same  Dion  who  related 
this  had  lately  said  of  the  Maaatoe  and  Caledonii  collectively,  ywnt^iv  i-a-iKoivotg  xpwfitvot. 
When  the  increasing  civility  of  dress  and  manners  had  fixed  upon  the  adherents  to  old 
fashions  of  nudity  the  title  of  Cruthneans,  the  latter,  no  doubt,  continued  also  more 
barbarous  in  sexual  and  social  rules.  Their  removal  also  was  into  islands  where 
those  rites  which  ascertain  father  and  son  were  systematically  excluded  from  the 
court.  There  is,  therefore,  no  such  mystery  in  the  Pictish  prosapia  focrninea,  or 
uterine  tanistry,  as  should  lead  us  to  take  up  with  that  bardic  romance  of  the 
Cruthnich  husbands,  bound  by  a  solemn  treaty  to  the  unpetticoated  government 
of  their  Milesian  wives.  Christian  or  semi-Christian  bardism  put  on  dissimulation 
in  dealing  with  the  dark  annals  of  the  past ;  and  as  it  coined  fables  to  dissemble 
the  paintedness  of  previous  generations,  so  did  it  others  to  keep  out  of  sight  their 
yapov  ayajuor. 

The  colour  of  the  Britons,  Picts,  and  Crutheni  is  not  uniformly  stated.  Cfesar 
terms  it  ccerulean;  Ovid  speaks  ofthevirides  Britanni  (Amoresii.  16,  39);  and  Pliny 
says  they  imitated  the  colour  of  Ethiopians,  xxii.  cap.  i.  But  they  used  the  herb 
isatis  or  glastum,  called  woad,  which  by  preparation  will  yield  blue,  green,  and  black. 
The  use  of  more  than  one  tint  appears  grammatically  as  well  as  historically.  For 
glastum  in  Latin,  glas-lys  in  British,  is  woad.  But  glas,  in  British  and  in  Gaelic, 
means  indifferently  blue  and  green.  It  is  surprising  that  even  the  simplest  of  men 
should  have  called  the  firmament  on  high  and  the  grass  under  foot  by  one  name  of 
colour.  But  in  truth  the  phrase  is  from  the  dyer's  shop,  and  not  from  nature, 
meaning  glasticolor,  woad-coloured.  Of  that  there  is  confirmation,  in  the  Gaelic 

IRISH  ARCH.  SOC.   10  h  words 


Iviii 

words"  gorm,  guirm,  guirme,  guirmead,  meaning  alike  blue  and  green,  blueness  and 
greenness,  to  stain  blue  and  green,  and  guirmean,  goirmin,  the  herb  wood.  Whereas  the 
words  not  having  such  double  sense,  lla,?ar,  blue,  nevltiw,  sky-blue,  gwyrdd,  ir,  uaithne, 
green  (as  well  as  the  determining  compounds,  like  ir-las,  green,  liath-gorm,  azure), 
do  not  signify  that  herb.  All  names  for  woad  seem  to  be  indifferent  as  to  the 
two  colours,  and  all  words  thus  indifferent  to  be  names  of  woad.  Therefore  tradition 
and  etymology  combine  to  recommend  the  opinion,  that  Celtic  tribes  diversified  their 
skins  with  several  tints  and  colours,  as  in  Christian  times  they  have  distinguished 
themselves  by  the  colour  of  their  plaids. 

In  those  districts  to  which  the  Roman  laws  against  Druidism  did  not  extend,  and 
where  the  practice  had  not,  as  in  most  parts  of  Ireland,  come  to  a  natural  end,  Chris- 
tianity was,  no  doubt,  its  destroying  power.  Besides  any  connexion  it  may  have  had 
with  Pagan  creeds,  its  very  nature  and  object  implied  the  nudity  of  the  greater  part 
of  the  body,  which  the  Christian  decorum  has  always  condemned.  But  it  is  probable 
that  the  formal  conversions  by  Ninia,  Ptilladius,  Columkille,  &e.,  may  have  found  the 
custom  fast  dying  away  under  the  approaches  of  the  dawning  light.  Pictland,  I  have 
studied  to  shew,  had  recently  ceased  to  be  governed  by  a  dynasty  of  Bruides,  when 
Columkille  went  thither.  Yet  the  memory  of  that  ancient  usage, — nay,  in  some  sort, 
the  usage  itself,- — was  superstitious!}'  cherished  by  those  who  regretted  and  secretly 
retained  Uruidism.  It  was  so  in  Roman  Britain  at  that  very  time  ;  and  among  the 
Northern  Picts  and  their  neighbours  still  later.  Beli  Mawr,  to  whom  every  thing 
British  was  referred,  was  son  of  Manogan,  i.  e.  the  Spotted-man,  a  name  formed  upon 
manog,  in  modern  spelling  mitnuicg,  spotted  or  party-coloured.  They  were  joint 
patrons  or  tutelaries  of  the  island:  "  Skilfully  will  I  praise  thee,  victorious  Beli!  and 
King  Manogan  I  thou  shalt  uphold  the  privileges  of  Bell's  isle  of  honey." — Marwnad 
Uthyr,  p.  73.  The  same  root,  manaw,  macula,  yields  the  name  of  another  titulary 
hero-god,  Manawyd,  synonymous  with  that  of  Manogan ;  he  was  a  perpetual  guardian 
of  the  Cauldron  of  Britain Me'di.  Lli/r.  v.  48. 

The  poem  called  the  Praise  of  Lludd  contains  that  famous  and  obscure  canticle  of 
the  Britons,  said  to  be  quoted  o'r  anant,  "out  of  the  hymns,"  invoking  one  Brith  or 
Diversicolor,  "  Brith  i  Brithan1  hail"  &c.,  and  describing  the  sacrifice  of  a  cow  that  is 
vraith  (feminine  ofbrith)  or  party-coloured. — pp.  74,  75.  Elsewhere  it  is  said:  "  They 

the 

«  It  should  be  mentioned,  however,  that  gorm  to  signify,  Brite  (sive  Picte)  in  Britanniam  (sive 
is  also  used  for  red.  Pictorum-terram)  festinato. 

y  Brith   i  Brithan  hai — These   words   seem 


lix 

(the  multitude)  do  not  know  the  ych  brych,  spotted  or  variegated  ox,  with  the  massive 
head-band." —p.  45.  The  bard  Avaon  says, 

"  I  have  been  a  cat  with  a  spotted1  head  on  the  triple  tree, 
Bum  oath  ben-vrith  ar  driphren." — p.  44 

And  Meigant  says  of  his  order,  the  bards,  "  let  the  spotted-headed''  host  from  the  cow- 
pen  of  Cadvan  be  invited  on  the  day  of  ample  allowance,  byddin pen-vrith  o 

vuarth  Cadvan." — p.  161.  In  the  sorceries  of  Tintagel  tower,  when  Pendragon  put  on 
the  similitude  of  Gorlais,  his  accomplice,  Merlin  Ambrose,  took  the  form  of  Brith- 

vael;  that  is  to  say,  useful  or  effectual  by  variegation,  picturipotens Brut.  G.  ap. 

Arthur,  p.  292.  Geoffrey  seems  to  have  read  brych  instead  of  its  equivalent  brith, 
"  Merlinus  in  Bricelem." — viii.  19.  Avan  Red-Spear,  the  favourite  bard  of  the 
redoubted  king  Cadwallou  ap  Cadvan,  praises  him  in  this  peculiar  phrase  : 

Mad  ganed,  mab  britb,  cythmor  radlawn, 

Well-born  is  he,  son  of  the  painted  one,  gracious  sea-divider. 

Axle  of  our  privilege,  he  went  [against]  the  leagued  valour  of  the  unjust. 

Silent  were  the  crowd  of  kings  before  the  harmonious  ones. 

Verdure  vegetated  when  the  man  was  born  a  blessing 

To  Cymmry,  when  Christ  created  Cadwallawn p.  180;  vide  Evans  Spec.  p.  49. 

Though  mab  brith  might  signify  pictus,  not  Jilius  picti,  as  mab  sant  is  sanctus,  notJUius 
sancti,  the  words  mad  ganed  imply  the  latter  sense.  A  certain  Brith  or  Manogan  seems 
to  have  been  honoured  as  a  person  typical  of  Celtic  antiquity;  which  idea  would 
make  it  "  son  of  Brith."  This  superstition  fell  under  ecclesiastical  censure  in  the 
canons  of  the  Synod  of  Calcuth,  in  A.  D.  785.  Those  canons  were  decreed  in  Nor- 
thumberland, with  the  sanction  and  signature  of  Aclfward  king  of  Trans-IIumbria, 
his  bishops,  and  abbots;  and  were  adopted  and  decreed  in  like  manner  by  the  clergy 
of  King  Offa,  at  Calcuth  in  Mercia.  But  the  following  canon  evidently  originated 
in  the  kingdom  of  Northumberland,  which  bordered  upon  that  of  the  Picts,  with 
some  intermixture  of  population.  "  The  Pagans,  by  inspiration  of  the  devil,  intro- 
duced most  unseemly  scars,  agreeably  to  what  Prudentius  says  in  his  Enchiridion, 

'  Tinxit  et  innocuum  maculis  sordentibus  Adam.' 

Verily,  if  any  one  for  God's  sake  were  to  undergo  this  blemish  of  staining,  he  would 
therefore  receive  great  reward ;  but  whoever  does  it  from  the  superstition  of  the  Gen- 
tiles 

'If  these  allusions  are  to  painting  upon  the       surname  of  Maol,  Bald,  given  to  Britan,  son  of 
shaven  crown  of  the  head,  they  may  explain  the        Fergus  Redside,  and  founder  of  Britain. 

h2 


Ix 

tiles,  it  does  not  avail  him  to  salvation." — Concil.  Cludcutense,  ap.  Wilkins,  i.  p.  150. 
This  is  a  full  mild  censure,  which  may,  perhaps,  imply  that  the  offenders  were  neither 
few  nor  unpopular.  Rhydderch  Hael,  prince  of  Strathclyde,  the  opponent  of  bardism, 
and  more  especially  of  Gwenddoleu  the  Caledonian  and  Merddin,  invited  St.  Kentigern 
or  Mungo  to  Glasgu  to  restore  the  Christian  religion,  which  was  almost  destroyed 
(pene  deleta)  in  those  parts.  Kentigern  assembled  the  people,  and  said:  "  Whoever 
begrudge  men  their  salvation,  and  oppose  God's  word,  by  virtue  of  God's  word  I  warn 
them  to  depart,  that  they  may  offer  no  impediment  to  believers.  Quo  dicto  ingens 
larvatorum  multitude  statura  et  visu  horribilis  a  coetu  illo  exiens  omnibus  videntibus 
aufugit." — Jocelyn,  Vita  Kentig.  cap.  32;  Pink,  Vita;  Sanctorum  Scotice.  Though 
this  is  so  retailed  by  Jocelyn,  as  to  give  the  idea  of  demons,  not  men,  yet  the  very 
word  larvati,  in  its  ancient  sense  of  haunted,  larvis  exterriti,  is  contrary  to  that  idea ; 
and  in  its  mediaeval  sense  of  larva  indutus,  wearing  a  hideous  mask,  it  gives  what  I 
conceive  the  truth  of  this  affair,  that  the  Du-Calidons,  and  other  "  brithwyr  ddu," 
such  as  Merddin  ap  Morvryn  and  his  disciples,  removed  from  the  congregation  those 
ugly  masks  which  they  had  substituted  for  human  faces.  But  the  most  signal  evi- 
dence of  the  systematic  character  of  that  superstition,  which  the  Trans- Humbrian 
prelates  pronounced  "  unavailing  to  salvation,"  is  furnished  by  an  ancient  bard,  who 
thus  describes  the  three  llu,  i.  e.  troops  or  courses,  into  which  his  order,  or  certain 
functionaries  connected  with  it,  distributed  themselves : 

[By  the]  customs  of  the  kingdom  Teyrnas  arvereu 

The  three  troops  shall  be  conducted  Dygettawr  y  trillu 

Before  the  potent  visage  of  Jesus ,  Rhag  drech  drem  lesu ; 

The  troop  pure  and  innocent,  Llu  gwirin  gwirion 

Of  the  appearance  of  angels;  Eiliw  engylion; 

A  nother  troop  of  men  variegated  Llu,  arall  brithion 

After  the  fashion  of  natives* ;  Eiliw  brodorion; 

The  third  troop,  [of  men]  unbaptized,  Tridedd  llu  divedydd, 

.Stubborn  co-operators  in  death,  Syth  llaith  cy weithydcl, 

Drive  the  gluttons  into  the  lot  of  Devils,  Hwyliant  y  glythwyr  yn  parthred- 

Dieivyl, 

United  among  the  good  ones,  Yn  un  yn  daon 

[Though]  with  the  appearance  of  the  un-  Gan  dull  anghyviawn p.  1 84. 

righteous. 

The 

1  i.  e.  Aborigines. 


Ixi 

The  two  last  lines  relate  (in  my  conjecture)  to  the  third  llu,  and  not  to  their  victims,  the 
glythwyr;  though  it  is  a  matter  of  inference1",  not  of  syntax. 

Now  the  question  arises,  were  these  persons  whom  the  bards  applaud,  and  the 
synod  censures,  aculeis  ferreis0  cum  atramento,  &c.,  annotati?  I  cannot  quite  think 
it;  but  prefer  the  supposition,  that  they  were,  upon  occasions,  simply  painted  in  a 
superficial  and  removable  manner ;  and  not  stigmatised,  as  the  Du-Calidonian  Britons 
were  before  St.  Ninia,  and  the  Gwyddyl  Fichti  before  St.  Columba;  without  prejudice, 
however,  to  their  having  certain  marks  partially,  and  secretly  perhaps,  imprinted  on 
the  body,  both  for  superstition,  and  as  the  sign  of  initiation,  and  of  being  a  "  mab 
brith." 

This  entire  topic  was  deprived  of  much  of  its  chances  of  elucidation  by  the 
destruction  of  Irish  Ulster  in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries;  for  that  king- 
dom was  both  the  favourite  seat  of  ancient  bardism,  and  the  principal  residence  of  the 
Crutheni  or  Picts  of  Erin.  But,  even  as  it  is,  these  pages  would  have  contained  more 
illustration  had  they  been  written  ten  years  hence. 

Postscript. — My  attention  has  been  directed  to  a  work  manifesting  much  acquain- 
tance with  the  history  of  the  clans,  entitled,  "  The  Highlanders  of  Scotland,"  &c.,  by 
W.  F.  Skene,  F.  S.  A.  Scot.,  Edinb.  1837.  Its  coincidence  with  several  of  the  main  argu- 
ments and  conclusions  above  offered  obliges  me  to  disclaim  the  suspicion  of  having 
purloined  any  of  them  from  those  pages,  the  existence  of  which  has  only  now  been 
made  known  to  me,  many  months  after  the  whole  of  my  notes  have  been  at  Dublin. 
I  specially  allude  to  the  doctrine,  that  the  kingdom  of  Picts,  to  which  the  Pictish 
Chronicle  relates,  was  Gaelic,  and  that  its  inhabitants  were  those  people  whom  we  call 
Highlanders.  It  was  entirely  unknown  to  me  that  such  an  opinion  had  ever  appeared 
in  print.  That  the  Gael  Picts  were  the  whole  body  of  the  Albaunaich,  those  excepted 
who  dwelt  west  of  Drumalban,  was  a  conclusion  that  implied  the  falsehood  of  the  clan 
pedigrees,  exhibited  since  the  fable  of  the  Pictish  extirpation  became  prevalent.  But 

it 

b  In  the  twelfth  century  Cynddelw  inverted  this  ancient  order  of  the  three  troops,  and  arranged 
it  2,  3,  1  ;  the  inference  is  supported  by  his  words  : 

"  Three  clamours  resort  to  the  one  cauldron,  Rygyrchant  unpcir  teir  trydar, 

The  concourse  of  tribes,  and  my  preparation ;  Cynnadledd  cenedlcodd,  a'm  par  ; 

The  troop  of  variegated  pugnacious  natives ;  Llu  brithion  brodarimi  brn-yrlyrgar ; 

Secondly,  the  troop  of  wrath,  blackish,  and  roaring  Eil  gwythlu  gorddu  gorddyar ; 

aloud ; 

Thirdly,  the  cheerful  troop,  soothing  down  opposi-  Trydydd  llu  nyw,  lludd  cyvarwar, 

tion, 

The  troop  of  blessed  ones,  whom  the  beautiful  loveth.  Llu  gwynion,  gwynoydig  a  gar."— 

Canu  i  Dditw.  p.  24i*. 
c  Isidorus  Hispalensis. 


Ixii 

it  was  out  of  my  power  to  work  out  that  portion  of  the  subject;  and  I  am  glad  to  see 
it  is  there  so  effectually  done. 

But  there  are  also  points  which  I  am  unable  to  concede.  In  this  work  is  a  third 
attempt  to  unite  the  Vecturions  and  Caledons,  making  them  all  Gaels,  whom  Innes 
made  all  Britons,  and  Pinkerton  all  Teutons,  and  I  do  not  see  that  it  is  well  sup- 
ported by  fact  or  reasons.  Having  no  space  for  stating  and  refuting  the  arguments 
upon  them,  I  must  go  straight  to  the  points.  It  is  not  fact,  that  Ptolemy  mentions 
fourteen  tribes  of  Caledonians,  or  any  tribes  of  them  at  all;  but  the  thirteen  other 
names  are  by  him  clearly  distinguished  from  the  Caledonians.  This  is  writing  Ptolemy, 
not  quoting  him.  I  do  not  believe  the  list  of  Bruides  consisted  originally  but  of  28. 
Copies  agree  in  stating  they  were  thirty;  and  it  is  as  likely,  at  least,  for  two  names 
to  be  lost,  as  that  miscalculation  committed.  The  number  150  was  a  multiple  of  30, 
not  of  28,  allotting  five  years  to  each  king.  Nor,  if  they  were  28,  could  we  reduce  that 
number  to  14,  by  retaining  the  Bruides  and  rejecting  the  Ur- Bruides.  For  nothing 
can  be  surer  than  that  the  Ur-Bruides  meant  something,  and  what  they  did  mean  I 
have  already  offered  a  surmise,  above,  p.  xlvi.  n.  The  purpose  for  which  these  four- 
teen Bruides  are  sought,  requires  them  to  be  all  living  and  reigning  at  the  same 
time.  Consequently  we  are  told,  vol.  i.  p.  251,  that  "  Bruide  is  here  stated  to  have 
thirty  sons."  Let  us  hear  the  statement :  '•  Brude  Bout  (a  quo  xxx.  Brude  regnaverunt 
per  centum  quinquaquinta  annorum  spncmm)  xlviii.  annis  regnavit."  A  series  of 
kings,  succeeding  B.  Bout  during  150  years,  are  converted  into  a  family  of  brothers. 
Lastly,  I  am  far  from  persuaded,  that  the  Situs  Albania-  did  by  its  "  septem  reges  .  . 
septem  regulos  sub  se  habentes,"  mean  to  express  fourteen  persons,  not  fifty-six  persons. 
The  latter  scheme  would  extend  the  type  of  the  Pictish  constitution  from  the  king- 
dom of  the  Ardrigh  to  each  Muormor  kingdom.  We  know  that  type  existed  in  the 
Cruithne  of  Ualn'araidhe.  Cenliu-lad,  cit.  Tigh.  in  A.  1).  563. 

The  idea  of  a  subsisting  bifarious  division  of  Pictland  in  the  eighth  century, 
Cruithne  being  the  northern  and  Piccardach  the  southern,  seems  to  me  an  illusion 
built  on  verbal  trifles.  The  form  Piccardach  exhibits  the  only  Irish  name,  founded 
on  Pictus,  that  Tighernach  employs.  It  is  a  general  term,  or  used,  if  with  any 
antithesis,  in  contrast  to  those  of  Ireland.  Its  combination  with  ard  or  ardach 
seems  to  imply  Picts  of  the  mountains;  in  which  case,  it  is  with  infelicity  restricted 
to  the  lowlands.  Mr.  Skene  alleges  that  "  whenever  Tighernach  has  the  word  Pic- 
cardach, the  Annals  of  Ulster  use  the  word  Pictores,  in  Latin,  instead  of  Picti, 
usually  applied  by  them  to  the  Picts." — i.  p.  36.  In  fact,  Tighernach  has  the  word 
Piccardach  in  728,  729,  734,  and  750;  and  Pictones  in  669,  750,  and  752.  Ulster 
Annals  have  Pictores  thrice,  in  668,  675,  and  727 ;  Picti  (so  far  as  I  observe)  not  usually, 

but 


Ixiii 

but  twice,  in  697,  and  787 ;  and  the  common  genitive,  Pictorum,  eleven  times,  in  630, 
652,  656,  728,  733,  735,  861,  864,  870,  874,  and  in  877,  where  they  last  mention  that 
nation  by  name,  saying  afterwards  only  Fir  Albain.  The  728  of  Tighernach  is  Pic- 
tores  in  727,  Uit.  His  729  and  734  are  the  genitive  Pictorum  in  728,  733,  Ult.  But 
the  Pictones  and  Piccardach,  both  applied  by  Tighernach  to  the  same  people  in  750,  are 
reduced  by  the  Ulster  Annals  to  the  one  word,  Pictores.  Tighernach  thought  fit  to 
borrow  the  name  of  the  Pictones,  or  Gauls  of  Pictavia.  So  Hermannus  Coutractus,  an 
historian  of  his  age,  says  at  A.D.  446,  "  contra  Scotos  et  Pictavos."  It  is  evident  that 
his  learning  was  wasted  upon  the  Ultonian  annalist,  who  converted  it  into  Pictores, 
Painters.  This  phrase  of  Pietores  has  no  relation  whatever  to  Piccardach,  only  to  Pic- 
tones. If  the  common  genitive  is  to  be  fetched  from  Pictores,  that  rule  must  extend  to 
all  the  eleven  instances,  including  five  subsequent  to  the  fall  of  the  Pictish  dynasty. 
Talorcaii  M'Congusa  was,  it  is  said,  a  Pict  of  the  north ;  and,  as  he  delivered*1  up  his  own 
brother  into  the  hands  of  the  Piccardach,  there  must  be  "  a  complete  distinction"  be- 
tween the  latter  and  the  Picts.  But  surely  a  fugitive  and  outlawed  Pict  (see  Tigh. 
A.D.  73i)can  make  his  peace  with  the  Picts  by  giving  up  his  brother  to  them,  without 
our  using  the  word  Pict  in  two  senses.  Hungust,  it  is  said,  receives  the  title  of  ri  na 
Piccardach  two  years  before  he  became  king  of  Pietland;  therefore  Piecardach  was 
another  sovereignty.  But  ri,  a  king,  does  not  always  mean  ardri,  the  king;  and  it  is 
a  term  applied  to  maormors  of  Albany,  and  Irish  toparehs,  governing  provinces  under 
the  ardrigh.  Thus  the  maormor  Finleg  is  styled  Ri  Albain,  Tigh.  1020;  and  in  Ult. 
1085,  Ceaunmor  reigning,  one  Domhnall  M'Maelcholuim  is  also  Ri  Albain.  When  the 
general  name  is  improperly  added  to  ri,  instead  of  the  name  of  the  toparchy,  it  only 
shews  the  details  to  be  unknown  or  pra;termitted  by  the  writer.  I  know  not  whether 
all  Pict  princes  of  the  royal  blood  and  succession  were  personally  so  styled,  perhaps 
not;  but  we  read  concerning  the  Irish  Picts  at  629  Tigh.,  Dicuil  ri  cenedt/l  Cruithiu- 
ceeidit.  Any  dynastic  theory  built  upon  the  mere  use  of  the  word  ri  is  vain  ami 
unfounded.  Feebler  yet  is  the  suggestion  that  the  northern  Picts  "  were  a  distinct 
body  under  their  peculiar  appellation  of  Cruithne."  Since  the  Piccardachs  were  the 
southern  Picts  (we  are  told),  "  consequently  the  name  of  Cruithne,  although  occasion- 
ally applied  to  all  the  Picts,  would  in  its  more  restricted  sense  belong  to  the  Dicale- 
dones  or  North  Picts." — pp.  36,  37.  Whatever  it  would  do  under  certain  conditions, 
it  never  did  so  in  fact.  Its  more  restricted  sense,  that  is,  its  more  frequent  sense, 
to  which  its  Latin  (Crutheni)  seems  really  restricted,  was  the  Picts  of  Erin.  The 

only 

"  Mr.  Skene  adopts  the  converse  statement  from       retaining  Me  year  of  Tighernach.      Why   this  is 
Ult.,  viz.,  that  his  brother  surrendered  him,  while       done,  I  know  not. 


Ixiv 

only  prop  to  this  manifest  fiction  is  another  equally  novel,  viz.,  the  interpreting 
Cruithen-Tuath,  Picts  of  the  North,  p.  63,  whereas  the  word  tuath  in  that,  as  in 
many  analogous  combinations,  is  never  rendered  the  north,  but  the  people  or  nation. 
Cruiten tuath  is  actually  applied  by  the  Masters  to  the  Picts  inhabiting  Ireland. — 
Quat.  Mag.  p.  29;  and  see  above,  pp.  126,  158. 

I  have  a  word  to  add  on  the  theory  that  the  Cruithnich  came  from  Albany  to  Erin, 
instead  of  the  reverse.  If  strong  arguments  combine  to  confute  the  declarations  of  all 
our  earliest  authors  let  them  stand  confuted,  but  not  otherwise.  The  system  of  Mr. 
Skene  requires  the  Cruithnich  or  Gaelic  Picts  to  have  always  held  their  territory, 
even  from  the  earliest  Roman  records  ;  and  therefore  he  is  led,  systematically,  to 
maintain  the  above  theory.  The  argument  for  it  runs  thus :  "  In  all  the  Irish  annals 
the  name  given  to  the  earliest  inhabitants  of  Scotland  is  Cruithne." — p.  209.  For 
which  read,  "  given  to  some  inhabitants  of  Scotland,  by  me  regarded  as  the  earliest;" 
for  more  than  that  is  incorrect.  "  And  this  appellation  is  always  applied  by  them  to 
the  inhabitants  of  Scotland,  in  contradistinction  to  the  Scots  or  inhabitants  of  Ire- 
land." Of  the  instances  (certainly  rare)  in  which  Tighernach  carries  that  name  out 
of  Ireland,  I  have  only  noted  three  or  four,  in  every  one  of  which  it  is  otherwise.  In 
505  and  663  there  is  no  contradistinction  to  anything  ;  and  in  560  Cruithnechaibh 
is  contrasted  with  Albanchaibh,  meaning  the  Scots  of  Britain.  It  is  the  same  in 
731,  where  Cruithne  are  opposed  to  Dalriadhe,  unless  that  whole  passage  relates 
to  Ulster.  The  inference  follows:  "  [In  thu  first6  place,]  therefore,  it  can  be  proved 
from  Tighernach  that  the  Ultonians  or  inhabitants  of  the  north  of  Ireland  were 
Cruithne,  and  therefore  must  have  come  from  Scotland."  It  can  be  proved  from  him 
and  from  others,  that  a  very  limited  portion  of  the  Ultonians  were  Cruithne.  We 
are  only  carried  thus  far,  that  the  name  Cruithne  was  applied  to  a  portion  of  each 
island;  and  thence  we  are  to  dedu"c,  that  Ireland  received  it  from  Albany.  By  the 
same  process,  mutatis  nominibus,  and  with  a  like  disregard  of  all  tradition,  we  may 
prove  that  Ireland  was  peopled  from  Argyle  and  Lorn,  and  Saxony  from  England. — 

(«) 

NOTE 

c  What  follows,  in  the  second  place,  is  a  des-  of  the    Cruithne.      But   even  these   verbal  dia- 

perate  allegation  that  Cruthnia  was  all  Ulster,  lectics  break  down,  for  the  text  runs,    "  against 

when  it  is  well  known  to  have  not  even  included  Cruithnia    and    against   Fiach    Araidh."       Two 

all  Down  and  Antrim.      The   plea  is,  that  Fiach  againsts,    because  two    powers,    viz.,   the    tribe 

Araidh  reigned    at    Emania,    and    that  Cormac  of  which  he  was  ri  or  chieftain,  and  the  kingdom 

fought  "  against  Fiach  and  the  Cruithne."  Ergo  of  which  he  was  ardri  or  pentarch.      See  Tigh. 

the  kingdom   of  Emania  is  identical  with  that  in  236. 


Ixv 


No.  XVIII.     Seepages  122-124. 

The  legendary  history  of  the  Picts  or  Cruithnians,  as  given  in  the  foregoing 
additions  to  the  Historia  of  Nennius,  will  be  found  in  a  somewhat  more  detailed 
shape  in  the  following  documents,  which  seem  worthy  of  preservation  here,  as  tending 
to  illustrate  and  complete  the  subject. 

I.  The  first  is  a  tract  on  the  History  of  the  Picts,  which  is  preserved  in  the  Book 
of  Lecan,  fol.  286,  b,  col.  2,  and  is  evidently  compiled  from  the  same  traditions  which 
formed  the  basis  of  the  narrative  given  in  the  text,  and  in  the  historical  poem  on  the 
history  of  the  Cruithnean  colony,  which  has  been  printed,  pp.  126-153: 

lap    rnapbao  Gbip    la   li-Gpemon    in  After  Eber  had  been  killed  by  Erenion 

Oipjfcpop  po  job  pfn  piji  n-Gpenn  co       in  [the  battle  of  ]  Airgeatros,  he  (Eremuii) 

reigned  over  Eri  fifteen  years ;  but  Eber's 
year  was  not  in  that  computation.  lie 
built  two  royal  forts,  viz.,  Ratli  Ainninn 
in  the  country  of  Cualannf,  and  Rath 
Beothaigh8  over  the  Nore.  He  then  made 
provincial  kings  of  Eri,  viz.,  he  gave  the 
sovereignty  of  the  Gaileon  province  to 


cfno  cuic  m-blia6an  Dec,  ace  ni  bai 
bliaoam  Gbip  ip  an  uipfm  pin.  Ro 
clapa  DI  pij  puich  lep  .1.  patch  GmomD 
i  cpich  Cualano,  -\  pinch  &eochaij  uap 
6eoip.  t)o  pinoi  imoppo  coicfoaich  ap 
Gpmo  lapcain  .1.  Do  pao  pigi  coicio  5U|- 
leom  Do  Clipeamchuno  Sciachbel  DO 
tDomnannchaib,  -|  Do  pao  piji  niumun 
DO  cheiclipi  macaib  Gbip  .1.  Gp,  Opbu, 
Pfpon,  Peapgna.  Do  puD  piji  coicio 
Clionoacc  DO  Un  muc  Uici,  -\  Do  Gucan 
mac  Uici.  Do  pao  pi^i  COICID  Uluo  DO 
Gbep  mac  Ip  a  quo  UlaiD  Gamna. 


Ip  pe  lino  DO  pmoeaD  na  jnima  pa  .1. 
carh  Chuile  Caichfp  la  h-Qimip^m  n- 
glum-jel  ;  i  cmo  bliaona  lappn  Do  cheap 
Gimipjin  i  each  6ile  Clnneao  i  Culaib 


1  Country  of  Cualann  __  Cualann  originally  com- 
prised  a  considerable  portion  of  the  present  county 
of  Wicklow  ;  but  in  the  latter  ages  it  was  con- 
sidered as  co-extensive  with  the  half  barony  of 

IKISH  AKCH.  SOC.  NO.    1  6. 


Creamthann  Sciathbel,  of  the  Domnann 
race ;  and  he  gave  the  sovereignty  of 
Munster  to  the  four  sons  of  Eber,  viz., 
Er,  Orba,  Fearon,  Feargna.  He  gave  the 
sovereignty  of  Connaught  province  to  Un, 
son  of  Uici,  and  to  Eatan,  son  of  Uici.  He 
gave  the  sovereignty  of  the  province  of 
Uladh  to  Eber,  son  of  Ir  a  quo  the  Ulto- 
niaus  of  Emania. 

It  was  in  his  time  the  following  deeds 
were  done,  viz. :  the  battle  of  Cuil  Caithear 
was  fought  by  Aimergin  the  White-kneed. 
In  a  year  after  Aimer-gin  was  slain  in  the 

battle 

Rathdown,  in  the  north  of  that  county.  See  In- 
quisition, 21st  April,  1636,  and  Ussh.  Primordia, 
p.  346. 

B  Rath  Beothaigh,  now  Rathveagh. 

i 


Ixvi 


6pejpe  h-6pemon.  1pm  bliaoain  checna 
po  meubabap  po  rhip  .ipe.  m-6popnocha 
6le,  i  cpi  h-Umopinba  Ua  n-Qililla,  -| 
.1,1.  Rig 


1pm  bliabam  chectia  pin  cancaoap 
Cpuichnich  a  cip  Oipaijjia  .1.  clanoa 
^elom  mic  Gpcuil  lab,  Icarippi  an- 
unmanou.  Cpuichmjj  mac  Inje  rnic 
?,ucca  mic  pappchaloin  mic  Gjnom 
mic  Guam,  mic  IDaip,  mic  paicpeachc 
mic  lapfo  mic  Maei.  Jpeachaip  Cpuirh- 
neach,  -\  cCc  bliubam  Do  i  pijje.  Seaclic 
meic  Cpmchmc  anopo  .1.  pibpa,  pioach, 
pocla,  poipcpenn,  Caicche,  Qipij,  Ce- 
cach  ;  -\  a  peachc  paribaib  DO  panopub 
(i  peapanna,  amail  abpeo  in  pile: 


TTIoippfpfp  mac  Cpuithnech  ann 
panopao  ap  peachc  a  peapano 
Caicche,  Qipij,  Cfcach  clano 
pib  Pibach  Pocla  Poipcpfno. 
Qcup  ipe  amm  each  pip  oib  puil  pop 
a  peapanb. 

pib,  imoppo,  bliaoam  ap  pichic  bo  a 


pibach  /rl.  bliabam. 


poipcpfno 


battle  of  Bile  Tineadh,  in  Culaibh  Breagh, 
by  Eremon.  It  was  in  that  same  year  the 
nine  rivers  Brosnach  of  Eile  broke  over 
the  country  ;  and  the  three  rivers  Uinn- 
sinn  ofUi  Aililla;  and  the  nine  n'wsKigh 
[Rye]  of  Leinster. 

It  was  in  that  same  year  the  Cruith- 
nians  came  out  of  the  country  of  Thracia, 
i.  e.  they  were  the  descendants  of  Gelon, 
son  of  Ercal:  Icathirsi  was  their  name. 
Cruitlmigh  was  the  son  of  Inge,  son  of 
Luchta,  son  of  Parrtholon,  son  of  Agnon, 
son  of  Buan,  son  of  Mas,  son  of  Faith- 
feacht,  son  of  Jafead,  son  of  Noah,11.  He 
was  the  father  of  the  Cruithnians,  and  he 
reigned  an  hundred  years.  The  seven  sons 
of  Cruitlmigh  were  these,  viz.:  Fibra, 
Fidach,  Fotla,  Foirtrcann,  Caitche,  Airig, 
Cetach.  And  it  was  into  seven  divisions 
they  divided  their  territories,  as  the  poet 
relates  : 

Seven  sons  that  Cruithnech  had ; 
They  divided  by  seven  their  territory : 
Caitche,  Airig,  Cetacli  the  fruitful', 
Fib,  Fidach,  Fotla,  Foirtreann. 

And  each  of  them  gave  his  name  to  his 
own  territory.). 

Fib,  therefore,  one  year  and  twenty  was 

his  reign. 
Fidach,  xl.  years. 

Foirtreann, 


"  See  above,  p.  51,  and  note  k. 

'  Cetach  the  fruitful :  lit.  Cetach  of  children. 
Cetach  is  here  made  a  proper  name  ;  but  in  the 
copy  of  these  Terses  given  above,  p.  50,  cecach 
clano  was  given  as  the  cognomen  or  surname  of 


one  of  the  seven  sons;  and  instead  of  Caitche 
and  Airig,  we  had  Cait,  Ce,  and  Cireach.  See 
p.  155,  n. 

Territory. — See  p.  50,  note  '. 


Ixvii 


Poipcpfno  .Ijri.  bliaoam. 
Uppanncaic   Da    bliuoam   ap    picluc. 
Uploici  ba  .p.  bliaoam. 
Uileo  Cipic  .li,x;c.  bliaoam. 
^ancaen  6ecan,  itnoppo,  bliaoam. 
Upjanr  Caic  cpicha  bliaoam. 
^nir  pinoechca  ,\p.  bliaoam. 

5U101C  5a°kpe5  bliaoum. 
bliaoam. 


Caluipjpfc  cpicha  bliaoam. 

Upchal  6puioi  pone  cpica  bliaoain. 
pij  Ulao  oe  abbapca  &putoi  ppia 
each  peap  Dib  -|  panna  na  peap. 


6puioi  Cino 

Uipchino  bliaoam. 

pfc  bliaoain. 

Uippeac  bbaoain. 

Ruaile. 

Ro  jobpao  caeca  ap  &a  cheobliaoain, 
uc  epc  illebpaib  na  Cpuicnech.  6puit>e- 
6po,  6puioe-5apc,  6puioe-  apjapc, 
&pmoe-Cino,  6puiDe-Upcino,  6pume- 
Uip,  6pumi-  Upuip,  &puioi-5p>eh, 
6puioi-Up5pir,  6pumi-muin,  6puibi- 
Upmum.  Oo  p'jaib  Cpuicneac  annpin. 

Seipeap  caipeach  cangacap  co  h-fpmo 
.1.  pfpeap  oeapbpaichpi  .1.  Soilen,  Ulpa, 
Neachcam,  Cpopcan,  Qenjup,  6ficmo. 

Pach  a  ciachca  a  n-6pmn,  imoppo, 
polopnup  pi  Cpaicia  Oo  pao  jpao  Dia 
piaip  co  po  cpiall  a  bpeich  can  cochpa. 

6ocap 


Foirtreann,  Ixx.  years. 

Urpanncait,  two  years  and  twenty. 

Urloici,  two  years  and  ten. 

Uileo  Ciric,  Ixxx.  years. 

Gantaen  Becan,  one  year. 

Urgant  Gait,  thirty  years. 

Gnith  Findechta,  Ix.  years. 

Burgnith  Guidit  Gadbre,  one  year. 

Fethges,  one  year. 

Uirfechtair  Gest  Gurid,  xl.  years. 

Caluirgset,  thirty  years. 

Urchal  Bruidi-pont,  thirty  years,  king  of 
Uladhk,  from  him  the  name  of  Bruide 
is  given  to  every  man  of  them,  and  to 
the  divisions  (territorial)  of  the  men. 

Bruidi  Cinn,  one  year. 

Uirchinn,  one  year. 

Feat,  one  year. 

Uirfeat,  one  year. 

Euaile. 

They  reigned  fifty  and  two  hundred 
years,  Tit  est  in  the  books  of  the  Cruith- 
nians.  Bruide-Ero,  Bruide-Gart,  Bruide- 
Argart,  Bruide- Cinn,  Bruide  -Urcinn, 
Bruide-Iup,  Bruide-Uriup,  Bruidi-Grith, 
Bruidi-Urgrith,  Bruidi-Muin,  Bruidi-Ur- 
muin.  Of  the  Cruithnian  kings  so  far. 

Six  leaders  came  to  Eri,  viz.,  six 
brothers,  viz.,  Solen,  Ulpa,  Neachtain, 
Trostan,  Aengus,  Leitinn.  Now  the 
cause  of  their  coming  to  Eri  was,  Polor- 
nus,  King  of  Thracia,  fell  in  love  with 
their  sister,  and  he  attempted  to  get 

her 


correct  reading,  which  in  another  copy  is  given 
ippi  je  nUlat)  .  If  t>e,  &c.      Book  of  Leacan. 
erased,  but  he,  probably,  omitted  to  substitute  the       fol.  13,  b.,  col.  2. 

i    2 


k  Uladh In  the  words  pig  ulao  oe,  a  cor- 
rector has  marked  the  letters  pig  with  dots,  to  be 


Ixviii 


f.ocap  lappin  co  po  cpiallpao  cap 
manchu  co  Ppanjcu,  -|  po  cumouijl'eaD 
cachaip  uno  .1.  piccaipip  a  piccup  a 
h-amm  .1.  o  na  peanoaib,  -\  oo  pao  pij 
ppanjc  5pao  oia  piuip.  6ocap  pop 
muip  jap  n-fj;  in  chuicfo  bpacap  .1.  La\- 
rfnn.  1  cino  DU  la  lap  n-oul  ap  muip 
aobach  a  pup.  ^abpao  Cpuichnij;  a  n- 
inobep  dame  [read  c-Slaine]  a  n-ib 
Cfnopealaij. 

Ocbeupc  ppiu  Cpemchano  Sciachbel 
pig  taijfn  oo  bepab  pailci  boib  ap 
oichup  Chuaichi  p'bja  DO|D-  Qbbeapc 
cpa  Cpopcan  opai  Cpuichnech  pin,  co 
poippeab  lab  ap  log  o'pajbail,  -|  ipe 
Ifijfp  .1.  bleogun  .un.  pichic  bo  mael 
pmn  oo  oopcuo  i  puil  a  peappaioea  in 
cuch  ooib  .1.  each  Qp&a  ^eamnachca  a 
n-lb  Cfnopealaich  pe  cuuchuib  pigoa 
.1.  cuach  oo  6peacnuib  po  bai  i  pocli- 
cipcaib  -|  nfm  ap  a  n-apmuib.  ITIapb 
each  aenpfp  ap  u  n-oeapjjbaip  -|  ni 
^ebbip  ace  lapnami  nfmi  umpu.  Cach 
uen  oo  jobra  DO  tutjjnib  ipm  chach  ni 
ofnoaip  ace  laij^i  pin  leutnnachr  -\  ni 
cumjio  nfm  ni  ooib.  TCo  niapbcu  lappin 
Cuach  phioja. 


TYIapb  ceachpap  lappin   Do   chpuich- 
neachaib   .1.    Cpopcan,    Solen,   Meach- 


her  witliout  paying  a  dowry.  They  theu 
set  out  and  passed  through  the  Romans 
into  France,  where  they  built  a  city,  viz., 
Pictairis,  a  pictis,  was  its  name,  i.  e. 
from  the  points  (pikes).  And  the  King 
of  France  fell  in  love  with  their  sister. 
They  set  out  upon  the  sea,  after  the  death 
of  the  fifth  brother,  viz.,  Laitenn.  In  two 
days  after  they  had  gone  to  sea  their 
sister  died.  The  Cruithneans  landed  at 
Inbhear  Slaine  in  Ui  Cennsealaigh. 

Cremthann  Sciathbel,  the  King  of 
Leinster,  told  them  that  they  should  have 
welcome  from  him,  on  condition  that  they 
should  destroy  the  Tuath  Fidga.  Now 
Trostan,  the  Cruithnean  Druid,  said  to 
them,  that  he  would  help  them  if  he  were 
rewarded.  And  this  was  the  cure  he  gave 
them,  viz.,  to  spill  the  milk  of  seven  score 
hornless  white  cows  near  the  place  where 
the  battle  was  to  be  fought,  viz.,  the 
battle  of  Ard  Leamhnachta  in  Ui  Ceinn- 
sealaigh,  against  the  Tuatha  Fidga,  viz., 
a  tribe  of  Britons,  who  were  in  the  Foth- 
arts1,  with  poison  on  their  weapons.  Any 
man  wounded  by  them  died,  and  they 
carried  nothing  about  them  but  poisoned 
iron.  Every  one  of  the  Leinstermen 
who  was  pierced  in  the  battle  had  no- 
thing more  to  do  than  lie  in  the  new 
milk,  and  then  the  poison  affected  him 
not.  The  Tuath  Fidga  were  all  killed 
afterwards. 

Four  of  the  Cruithnians  died  after, 
viz.,  Trostan,  Solen,  Neachtain,  Ulptha, 

after 


1  The  Fotharts,  now  the  barony  of  Forth,  in  the  County  Wexford.     See  above  p.  1 23,  note  '. 


Ixix 


cam,    Ulpca,    lap    n-oichap   in   chaca, 
conao  ooibpin  po  chan  in  p fnchaio  po. 

Gpo  leamnachca  ip  cippea  cheap 
pinoao  each  an  each  ejfp 
cpaeo  oap  lean  in  c-amm  iplomo 
pop  job  o  aimpip  Cpimcomo? 


Cpimchanb  Sciachbel  h-e  po  job; 
DO  capaiD  ap  car  cupao, 
cen  oin  ap  nfmib  na  n-aptn 
na  n-achach  n-uaerhap  n-ajapb. 


Seipfp  Cpuichneach  po  chmo  t)ia 
canjaoup  i  cip  Upajia. 
Solen,  Ulpa,  Nechcam  nap, 
Qenjup,  ^eichcfno,  ip  Cpopcan. 

l?o  chiolaic  t)ia  ooib,  cpe  clup, 
oia  n-oil  ip  Oia  n-oucupup, 
Oia  n-Din  ap  nfirnb  a  n-aptn. 
na  n-aichech  n-ficij  n-ajapb. 

Ip  e  eolup  DO  puaip  ooib 

opai  na  Cpuichnech  po  ceooip 

cpi  .1.  bo  mael  oon  muij 

DO  bLaejan  DO  a  n-aen  cuicij. 

Ro  cuipea&  in  cac  co  cacc 

ition  cuicij  a  m-bai  in  lemnacc 

Ro  muio  in  cac  co  calma 

pop  acacaib  apD  6anba.          Q. 

Ip  i  n-aimpip  h-epeumon  po  jobup- 
caip  ^uba  -\  a  mac  .1.  Cachluan  mac 
.1.    pi  Cpuichneach   neapc   mop 

pop 


after  the  battle  had  been  gained ;  and  it 
was  for  them  the  poet  sang  this: 

Ard   Leamhnachta    in    this   southern 

country, — 

Each  noble  and  each  poet  may  ask, 
Why  it  is  called  by  this  distinctive  name, 
Which  it  bears  since  the  time  of  Crim- 

thann  ? 

Crimthann  Sciathbel  it  was  that  en- 
gaged them  ; 

To  free  him  of  the  battle  of  heroes, 
When   defenceless    against   the  poisoned 

arms 
Of  the  hateful  horrid  giants. 

Six  Cruithnians — so  God  ordained — 
Came  out  of  the  country  of  Thragia. 
Solen,  Ulpa,  Neachtain  the  heroic, 
Aengus,  Leithcenn,  and  Trostan. 

God  vouchsafed  unto  them,  in  muni- 
ficence, 

For  their  faithfulness — for  their  reward — 
To  protect  them  from  the  poisoned  arms 
Of  the  repulsive  horrid  giants. 

The     discovery  which  was   made   for 

them 

By  the  Cruithnian  Druid  was  this, 
Thrice  fifty  cows  of  the  plains 
To  be  milked  by  him  into  one  pit. 

The  battle  was  closely  fought 
Near  the  pit  in  which  was  the  milk, 
The  battle  was  bravely  won 
Against  the  giants  of  noble  Banba, 

It  was  in  Bremen's  time  that  Cuba 
and  his  son,  viz.,  Cathluan  mac  Guba, 
King  of  the  Cruithnians,  acquired  great 

power 


Ixx 


pop  Gipmb.  No  co  pup  inbapb  Gp- 
fmon  a  h-Gpinb  -\  co  n-beapnpab  pib 
luppin. 

Ho  ip  o  macaib  ITlileao  pfn  bo  chuaio 
Cpuichneachan  mac  Inji  la  6pearnu 
poipcpeanb  DO  chachujao  pe  Saxanchu, 
1  popellab  a  clann  -|  u  claioeam-chip 
ooib  .1.  Cpuicheancuuch  ipeao  ni  po  ba- 
oup  [mna]  accu  ap  abbach  banocpochc 
Qlban  bo  gullpoib.  Do  luib  bno,  ap 
u  cul  bo  chum  meic  TTlileao  -|  po  jubub 
nfm  -|  talum  jpian  -\  epca,  muip  -\  cip 
beich  bo  maich  piu  plaich  poppo  co 
bpach;  -|  abbepc  of  mnai  oec  popcpaio 
bo  babap  la  capcap  Dlac  FDileab  i  n- 
Gpmn,  uaip  po  baicea  a  pip  ipa  n-aippji 
c-piap  mapaen  pe  t)onn ;  conab  o  pfpuib 
Gpfnn  plaich  pop  Cpuichericuaich  bo 
jpepiap  poipinb.  Ulna  6pfipi,  imoppo, 
1  6uaibne-|  6uaipi -|  na  cuipfc  po  baicea 
uile.  Ocup  anaip  pfpfp  oib  op  6pTj  mcn^, 
-|  ip  uuichib  each  jfp  i  each  pfn  -|  each 
ppfo  i  jora  fn  •]  each  mana  -\  each  obaip 
oo  jnireap. 


Cacluan  ip  e  ba  pij  oppcha  u  lie  -\  ip  e 
cfc  pig  po  job  Qlbain  bib.     C^c.  pig 

pop 


power  in  Eri ;  until  Eremon  banished 
them  out  of  Eri,  after  which  they  made 
peace. 

Or,  it  was"1  the  sons  of  Mileadh  them- 
selves that  sent  Cruithneachan  mac  Inge 
to  assist  the  Britons  of  Foirtrenn  to  war 
against  the  Saxons  ;  and  they  (the  Cruith- 
neans)  made  their  children  and  their 
swordland,  i.  e.  Cruithean-Tuaith,  sub- 
ject to  them.  And  they  had  not  wives, 
because  all  the  women  of  Alban  died  of 
diseases.  They,  therefore,  came  back  to 
the  sons  of  Mileadh,  who  bound  them,  as 
they  expected  the  heaven  and  earth,  the  sun 
and  the  moon,  the  sea  and  the  land,  to 
be  propitious  to  them,  that  they  would 
submit  to  them  as  kings  over  them  for 
over.  And  they  took  twelve  supernu- 
merary women,  who  belonged  to  the  Mile- 
sian expedition  to  Eri,  whose  husbands 
were  drowned  in  the  western  sea  along 
with  Bonn.  And  hence  sovereignty  over 
Cruithentuath  belongeth  to  the  men  of 
Eri,  according  to  some  authorities.  And 
they  were  the  wives  of  Breas,  and  of  Buaidne, 
and  of  Buas,  and  of  the  other  leaders,  who 
were  all  drowned.  And  six  of  them  re- 
mained in  possession  of  Breagh-Mhagh  ; 
and  from  them  are  derived  every  spell  and 
every  charm,  and  every  divination  by  sneez- 
ing, and  by  the  voices  of  birds;  and  all 
omens,  and  all  talismans"  that  are  made. 

Cathluan  was  then  king  of  them  all; 
and  he  was  the  first  king  of  them  that 

reigned 


"'  Or,  it  was Here  the  writer  gives  another  "  Talismans For  obaip  read  upaib.      See 

account,  from  some  other  authority.  p.  125,  supra,  and  note  *,  p.  144. 


Ixxi 


pop  Glbam  oib  o  Chacluan  co  Con- 
pancin;  ip  e  Cpuichnech  oeijinach  pop 
job  oib. 

t)a  mac  Cacluam  .1.  Cocanolocap  -| 
Cacalachac.  Q  Da  cupaiD,  im.  P'pn 
-]  Cmj  achaip  Cpuichnich.  Q  Da  ppuich 
.1.  Cpup  i  Cipic.  Q  oa  mileao  .1. 
Uapnfm  a  pil'5  -[  Cpuithne  a  cfpo. 
t)omnall  mac  Qilpm  ipe  a  raipec. 


reigned  over  Alba.  There  were  seventy 
kings  of  them  over  Alba,  from  Cathluan 
to  Constantine,  who  was  the  last  of  them 
that  reigned. 

Cathluan's  two  sons  were  Cotanolotar 
and  Catalachach.  His  two  champions  .  .  . 
.  .  .  Pirn,  and  Cing  the  father  of  Cruith- 
nich.  His  two  wise  men  were  Crus  and 
Ciric.  His  two  heroes ....  Uasneam  his 
poet,  and  Cruithne  his  worker  in  metals". 
Donall  mac  Ailpin  was  their  leader. 

And  others  say,  that  it  was  Cruithne  mac 
Loich  mac  Inge  himself,  that  came  to  ask 
the  women  from  Eremon ;  and  that  it  was 
to  him  Eremon  gave  the  wives  of  the  men 
who  were  drowned  along  with  Donu. 


Ocup  ipeao  aobepaiD  apoile  cumao 
h-e  Cpuichne  mac  f.oich  mic  Inge  pfn 
eipao  Do  chumogiD  ban  pop  6pemon  -| 
comao  DO  oo  bepeaoBpemon  mna  na  pfp 
Do  baicea  muille  pe  t)onn. 

II.  In  another  part  of  the  Book  of  Lecan  (fol.  141,  a,  col.  I.),  the  story  of  the  wives 
given  to  the  Cruithnians  is  repeated  in  a  somewhat  different  form.  This  document 
mentions  the  name  of  the  place  where  this  remarkable  treaty  between  the  two  na- 
tions was  said  to  have  been  agreed  on,  and  contains  also  a  list  of  the  seven  Chruithnean 
kings  of  Ireland: 


t)a  n-occ  Dec  mileao  oo  chuachaib 
Cpaicia  oo  locap  ap  ceario  loingpe 
meic  IDileaD  Gppame  DO  ^fprnuin,  Dop 
bepcaoap  leo  co  m-baoap  a  mill  cache. 
Ni  calcacap  mna  leo  pcacim,  conuo  Do 
pil  meic  ITlileaD  appo  paecap  mna  lap- 
pin.  t)o  bpeich  ingfna  oigclnsfpnna 
Doaib  o  pluichnia  6pinD,i  ap  n-jlanaDa 
claioeam-cip  ooib  allae  icip  6peacnaib 
.1.  ITIaj  Popcpfnn  ppimo,  -|  ITlaj  Cip^m 
.1.  popcea,  conao  lap  macpa  jabaic 
plaich  -)  each  comapbup  olcheana  lap 
na  napcaD  poppu  o  peapaib  6pmo  .1. 

rpi 


Twice  eighteen  soldiers  of  the  tribes  of 
Thracia  went  to  the  fleet  of  the  sons  of 
Mileadh  of  Spain,  to  Germany ;  and  they 
took  them  away  with  them  and  kept  them 
as  soldiers.  They  had  brought  no  wives 
with  them  at  that  time.  And  it  was  of  the 
Milesian  race  they  took  wives  afterwards. 
They  received  the  daughters  of  chieftains 
from  the  sovereign-champion  of  Eri,  and 
when  they  had  cleared  their  sword-land 
yonder  among  the  Britons,  viz.,  Magh  Fort- 
renn,  primo,  and  Magh  Cirgin,  postea;  so 
that  it  is  in  right  of  mothers  they  succeed 

to 


•  There  is  some  confusion  in  this  passage,  as       p.  124.    The  scribe  appears  to  have  taken  the 
the  reader  will  perceive  by  comparing  it  with       proper  name  1m  for  imoppo. 


Ixxii 


cpi  chaeca  injean  po  ucpao  a  h-6pe  DO 
maichpib  mac,  moe  die  na  n-mjfn  a 
cpich  tDal  n-Qpaioi  ipeao  aolocap  leo. 


Cpicha  pij  DO  Chpuichmb  pop  Gpmo 
1  Qlbam  .1.  DO  Chpuichnib  Qlban  -|  DO 
Chpuichnib  Gpenn  .1.  Do  Dail  GpaiDi. 
Oca  Din,  Ollumam  bia  ra  mup  n-olla- 
man  i  eeamaip  conije  piacna  mac 
6aeDain;  po  naipc  pioe  jiallu  Gpenn  -j 
Qlban. 

Secc  pi£  oin  DO  Chpuichmb  Qlban 
po  pallnupcaip  Gpmn  i  ceamaip,  OUam 
mnm  in  checna  pij  po  job  Gpmo  a 
Ceamaip  -|  a  Cpuachnaib,  epica  bliaDan 
ano.  Ip  De  aca  TTIup  n-OUaman  i 
Ceamuip;  ip  leip  cecna  oepnao  peip 
Ceampacli. 

QilillOUpinDacca  capeip  in  Ollaman 
a  piji  pop  Gipinn  uili  a  Ceamaip  cpica 
ano.  Ip  ina  plaich  piDe  peapaip  inpne- 
achca  pfna  co  n-oemecha  pep  ipin 
juimpiuch. 

pinooll  Cipipne  caipeip  in  Qililla 
cpica  annip  a  Ceamaip  -|  i  ceano  [read 
ceananoup].  Nach  n-aj  po  jenaip  ma 

pluichpiDe 


to  sovereignty  and  all  other  successions,  to 
which  they  were  bound  by  the  men  of  Eri. 
They  took  with  them  from  Eri  thrice 
fifty  maidens,  to  become  mothers  of  sons, 
whence  Alt-na-n-Ingheanp,  in  the  terri- 
tory of  Dal  Araidhe,  from  which  place 
they  departed  with  them. 

There  were  thirty  kings  of  the  Crutli- 
nians  over  Eri  and  Alba,  viz.,  of  the 
Cruithnians  of  Alba  and  of  the  Cruith- 
nians  of  Eri,  i.  e.  of  the  Dal  Araidhe. 
They  were  from  Ollamhan,  from  whom 
comes  the  name  of  Mur  Ollamhan  at  Tea- 
mhair,  to  Fiachna  mac  Beadain,  who  fet- 
tered the  hostages  of  Eri  and  Alba. 

There  were  seven  kings  of  the  Cruith- 
nians of  Alba  that  governed  Eri  in 
Teamhair.  Ollamh  was  the  name  of  the 
first  king  that  governed  Eri  at  Teamhair, 
and  in  Cruachan;  thirty  years  were  his 
annals'1.  It  is  from  him  Mur  Ollamhan 
at  Teamhair  is  named  :  by  him  was  the 
feast  of  Teamhair  first  instituted. 

Aillill  Ollfhindachta  came  after  Ollamh 
in  sovereignty  over  all  Eri  at  Teamhair, 
for  thirty  years.  It  was  in  his  reign  the 
wine  snow  fell  which  covered  the  grass  in 
winter. 

Findoll  Cisirne  succeeded  Ailill  thirty 
years  at  Teamhar  and  at  Ceanannus 
[Kells].  Every  cow  that  was  calved  in 

his 


i1  Alt-na-n-ingltean This  place  is  not  now- 
known.  The  name  signifies  "  height  or  mount 
of  the  maidens."  It  will  be  observed,  that  this 
version  of  the  story  represents  the  women  who 
were  given  as  maidens,  not  widows.  See  Reeves's 


Eccl.  Antiq.  of  Down  and  Connor,  p.  337. 

11  His  annals  :  that  is,  the  length  of  his  reign. 
This  was  the  celebrated  Ollamh  Fodhla.  See 
Petrie  on  Tara,  p.  29,  et  teg.  ;  Keating,  p.  329, 
(Hallidav's  edit.)  ;  O'Flahertj,  Ogyg. 


Ixxiii 


plaichpioe  po  bochfninoa,  ipoe  icaCean- 
annup  ma  lochce. 


Olljjochac  ma  DIQID  pioe  i 
Ceamuip  -|  pop  puin-laibe  a  eipib 
TTIugbopna,  po  pollnupcaip  cpita  uno. 
Ipna  plaich  pioe  ba  binoiehip  lu  each  a 
laile  amail  bio  chpoc  up  meac  in  cain- 
chompaic  bai  ina  plaich. 

Slanoll  capeipi  n-^Jeici  ip  inu  pluich 
pioe  ni  paibe  ^ulap  pop  ouine  i  n-Gipe; 
po  pollnupcaip  a  Ceamaip  -|  plan  pop 
Gipe  cpicu  ann. 

60505  OUpiaca  cupeip  Slonuill,  po 
pollnupcaip  pop  Gipi  a  Ceamaip  cpicu 
unn;  ip  ma  plcnch  pioe  tinopcunca  coicci 
in  €hpe. 

6eapnjal  capeipinftajaij;  po  pollnu  - 
pcaip  pop  Gipi  a  Ceamaip  cpica  ano.  ip 
ma  pluich  pioe  ap  pochuip  ich  a  h-Gipi 
ucc  miach  up  meao  in  choicche  m6pe-| 
apa  lin. 

Ipe  pin  cpa  nui  .un.  pij  po  gobpuc 
Gpmo  oo  Chpuichnib  Cllbun. 

t)o  Chpuichnib  Opeim  oin,  DI  Oul 
Qpaioi  .1.  na  peace  ?,aijjpi  ^uigen  -j  .un. 
So^ain,  i  cac  C[on]ailli  pil  i  n6pmo. 


Ins  reign  was  white-headed :  and  it  is  from 
him  that  the  name  of  Ceananmis  is  given 
to  his  places  of  residence. 

GeideOllgothach  after  him  atTeamhair, 
and  over  Fain-Laibe,  in  the  country  of 
Mughdorn  [Mourne],  he  ruled  for  thirty 
years.  In  his  reign  the  voices  of  all 
sounded  as  the  music  of  the  harp  to  each 
other,  so  great  was  the  peace  in  his  reign. 

Slanoll  after  Geide.  In  his  reign  no 
person  in  Eri  was  diseased.  He  governed 
at  Teamhair  and  health  was  over  Eri 
thirty  years. 

Bagag  Ollfliiaclia  after  Slanoll.  He 
governed  Eri  at  Teamhair  thirty  years. 
It  was  in  his  reign  that  wars  were  first 
begun  in  Eri. 

Bearngal  after  Bagag.  He  governed 
Eri  at  Teamhair  thirty  years.  It  was  in 
his  reign  that  all  the  corn  of  Eri,  except 
one  sack,  was  destroyed,  on  account  of  the 
wars  in  Eri,  and  for  their  frequency. 

These,  then,  are  the  seven  kings  that 
ruled  over  En  of  the  Cruithnians  of 
Alba. 

Of  the  Cruithniaus  of  Eri,  i.  e.  of  Dal 
Araidhe1",  are  the  seven  Laighsis  [Leix] 
of  Leinster,  and  the  seven  Soghains  and 
all  the  Cailli1  that  are  in  Eri. 


III.   The  following  brief  account  of  the  battle  of  Ardleamhnachta  is  taken  from 

the 


r  Dal'Araidhe.  These  were  Cruithnigh  by 
the  mother's  side  only.  See  Ogygia,  part  III. 
c.  xviii. 

1  The  seven  Laighsi,  i.  e.  the  seven  septs  of 
Leix.  According  to  the  tradition  in  the  country 
these,  after  the  establishment  of  surnames,  were 
IRISH  ARCH.  SOC.  id. 


the  O'Mores,  O'Kellys,  O'Lalors,  O'Oevoys  <>r 
Deevys,  Macavoys,  O'Dorans,  and  O'Dowlings, 
who  are  still  numerous  in  the  Queen's  County. 

'  Cailli.  This  is  a  mistake  for  Conailli,  as 
appears  from  Duald  Mac  Firbis's  copy  of  the 
genealogy  of  Dal  Araidhe,  in  which  it  is  stated 


Ixxiv 


the  Book  of  Leinster,  a  MS.  of  the  twelfth 
Dublin.    (H.  2.18.  fol.  8.0.) 

hippin  ampip  fin  [.i.  amp ip  hepimomj 
cancacap  Cpuchntj  conjubpac  mbfp 
Sldne  in  h.  Cenbpelaij.  Ropleic  Cpim- 
tan  cuce  ap  in  lejfp  puaip  bpu!  Cpuich- 
nec  DO  DO  car  ppi  Uuaich  pibja  (i  poch- 
apcaib)  .1.  cuach  oe  Spfcnaib.  Cac  ofn 
pop  i  n-bepjcaip  ba  mapb,  -|  nip  jaib- 
cip  ace  lapna  nfmibe.  Conio  e  in  le^fp 
blejon  p6  picec  bo  mael  pino  oo  bop- 
cub  ip  na  h-eccpijib  bale  ipfppaice  in 
car.  Unoe  each  Qpooa  lemnacc.  Qcup 
DO  pocpacap  uile  Cuac  pioba  cpiup  in 
ceilj  pin. 


Co  po  5"ib  Cucluan  mac  Cinj  bo 
Chpucfncuaio  nfpc  mop  fop  lifpinn.  Co 
pop  mnapb  hfpimon. 

Ip  anopm  canic  Cputrnecan  mac 
Cmje  Do  cuingio  ban  pop  llfpimon.  Co 
capac  hfpimon  DO  mnaa  nil  pfp  po 
bacce  oc  na  t)umucaib  .1.  6pfp  -|  6pofp 
1  6ua5ne.  Qcup  par  jpene  -|  fpca 
poppa  co  na  bab  luju  po  jabcha  pfpano 
6  pfpaib  i  cpuicfncuaich  quam  6  mnuib 
co  bpar. 


that  Irial  Glunmhar,  the  son  of  Conall  Cearnach, 
was  the  first  of  his  race  who  was  called  Crta'Mne, 
and  this  because  he  was  a  ma  Cruithne,  i.  e.  filius 
sororis  Cruthnei, — Loineeadha,  the  daughter  of 
Eochaidh  Echbheoil,  of  Alba,  being  his  mother. 


century,  in  the  Library  of  Trinity  College, 

It  was  at  that  time  [the  time  of  Here- 
mon]  the  Cruithnians  came  to  Eri,  and 
landed  at  Inbher  Slaine  in  Ui  Cennselaigh. 
Crimthan  allowed  them  to  settle  in  his 
territory,  on  account  of  the  remedy  which 
the  Cruithnian  druid  discovered  for  him, 
for  making  battle  with  the  Tuaith  Fidga, 
in  Fothartaibh  [Forth],  viz.,  a  people  of 
the  Britons.  Because  every  one  whom  they 
wounded  was  sure  to  die;  and  they  used 
no  other  than  poisoned  weapons.  And  the 
remedy  was,  to  spill  the  milk  of  six  score 
white  hornless  cows  into  the  furrows  of  the 
place  on  which  the  battle  was  to  be  fought. 
Whence  it  was  called  the  battle  of  Ard- 
leamhnachta.  And  the  whole  of  the  Tuath 
Fidbha  were  cut  off  through  that  artifice. 

And  Catluan,  son  of  Cing,  of  Cruith- 
entuaidh,  acquired  great  sway  over  Eri. 
And  Hcremon  banished  him. 

After  that  Cruithnechan,  the  son  of 
Cing,  came  to  beg  for  wives  from  Here- 
mon.  And  Ileremon  gave  him  the  wives 
of  the  men  that  were  drowned  at  the 
Dumachs,  viz.,  Breas,  and  Broes,  and 
Buagne.  And  they  were  obliged  to  give 
the  sun  and  the  moon  as  guarantees  that 
not  less  should  territorial  succession  be  de- 
rived from  men  than  from  women,  forever. 

IV. 

The  principal  sept  in  Ireland  called  Conailli  were 
the  Conailli-Muirtheimhne,  who  inhabited  the 
level  part  of  the  county  of  Louth,  extending  from 
the  Cuailgne,  or  Cooley  mountains,  to  the  Ri?er 
Bovne. 


Ixxv 

IV.  The  following  fragment  contains  a  portion  of  the  Irish  version  of  the  Chro- 
nicon  Pictorum,  and  is  here  given  from  a  copy  made  by  Mr.  O'Donovan  from  a  MS. 
(Laud.  610,  fol.  87,  a.)  in  the  Bodleian  Library,  Oxford  : 

&puit>e  Upmum. 

Rejnauepunc  .cl.  an.  uc  oipcimup,  -\  po  boe  Qlbo  cecpij  [read  cen  pig]  pplu  Pe 
huile  co  haimpp  5UD  cec  P1  P°  5°b  Cdbain  huile  cpi  chomaipli  no  up  ecm. 

Qtbepac  apaile  comao  he  Cacluan  mnc  Cacmino  no  jabao  pije  ap  eicin  hi 
Cpuchencuaich  -]  in  6ipmo  .1.  .Ipc.  bliaoam,  -|  lap  fin  po  jab  "faun  .1.  .1. 

Capam  .c.  an.  pejnauic. 

IDopleo  a  .pcu.  a.  pe. 

tJeocillimon  .pel.  an.  pe. 

Cinioioo  mac  Gpocoip  .un.  a.  p. 

Oeopc  .1.  a.  p. 

6lieblich  ,u.  a.  p. 

t)eococpeic  ppacep  Cui  .pel.  a.  p. 

[Upconbupc  .^pc.  a.  p. 

Cpaucpeic  .pel.  a.  p.]u 

Deopoiuoip  .pep:,  a.  p. 

Uipc  .1.  anmp  p. 

Ru  .c.  an.  p. 

bole  .un.  a.  pe. 
*  mi  [or  perhaps  im.  for  imoppo]  .ipc.  a.  p. 

6perh  mac  6uchuo  .1111.  a.  p. 

Uipo  ijnauifc  .ptp:pc.  a.  p. 

Canuculahma  .111.  a.  p. 

Uupaoech  uecla  .11.  a.  p. 

^apcnaic  t)iupepp  .Ipc.  a.  p. 

Calopc  mac  Qchiuip  .Ipcp:.  u. 

Opupc  mac  ©pp  .c.  a.  p.  ~\  ceb  each  pojni.  Nono  oecimo  an.  pejni  eiup 
Pacpiciup  panccup  Gpif  ao  hibepniam  pepufnic  mpolam. 

Calopc  mac  Qmel  .1111.  a.  p. 

Neccan  mop  bpfc   mac  Gipip  .pcpcnn.  an.  peg.     Cepcio  anno  pe^ni  eiup  Dap- 

lujoach 

"  These  two  names  are  omitted  here,  but  are  forty  instead  of  seven  years,   which  leads  to  a 

added  in  the  margin  by  the  original  hand.     The  suspicion   of   some   confusion  with    Deototreic, 

name  of  Crutbolc,  as  it  was  given  p.  159,  is  here  arising  from  the  similarity  of  termination, 
changed  to    Crautreic,  and   his  reign   is   made  x  See  above,  p.  160,  note  a. 

k2 


Ixxvi 

lujoticli  abbacippa  CiUe  Dapa  oe  llibepniu  e;culac  ppo  pcp'o  ub  6picuniam,  p°.  h.1 
unno  aouemcup  cui  [read  pui]  immolauic  Neccomup  anno  uno  Qpupnije  t)eo  -| 
punccue  &pijce  ppecence  [sic."]  tJuplujoach,  que  cuneuuic  all.  pupep  ipcam. 

tDpepc  ^upehimor  .ppp.  a.  p. 

^alancipilich  .;cu.  a.  p. 

Ouopepc"  .1.  t)pepc  pil.  5'POM 1  t)pepc  pin.  6uopop  .pu.  unnip  pejnauuc.  Dpepc 
pin.^'P0'1  polup  ,u.  a.  p. 

5«pcnaica  Fln>  <5'P°n  -u"-  u-  P- 

Cailc  uptu  pin.  5'Pom  uno  unno  pejnuuic. 

Calopj  p.  IDupcoloic  vti.  a.  p. 

Opepc  p.  ITIiinaich  uno  a.  p. 

5<ilarn  cfnnaleph  .1111.  ci.  p.     Cum  ftpiomo  i".  antio  pfjnuuic. 

6pume  mac  TTlelcon  .ppp.  u.  p.   In  octuuo  unno  pfjni   eiup  6opcijucup  epc  u 
puncco  Columba. 

J)apcnuic  p.  Oomfch  .ti.  a.  p. 

Neccan  nfpo  Uepb  .pp.  a.  p. 

Cmiucli  p.  6ucpm  .ptp.  a.  p. 

^apcnuic  mac  Uum  .u.  a.  p. 

Calopc  ppacep  eopum  ouooecim  a.  p. 

Calopcan  p.  6nppfcli  .1111.  u.  pe^. 

^apcnuic  p.  Oonuel  .111.  a.  p.  -|  Dfmeoium  utini. 

Opupc  pparep  eiup  .un.  unnip  p. 

6puioe  p.  pile  .^i.  a.  p. 

Capan  p.  6npmaij  .1111.  a.  p. 

6pei  p.  Depelei  vxi.  a. 

Mechcan  p.  Depilei  .p.  a.  p. 

t)pepr  -)  Glpm  conpfjnauuc  .u.  a. 

Onuip  p.  Upguipc  .ppp.  p. 

6pece 

y  These  contractions  probably  stand  for  "  sc-  It  appears  also  that  the  contraction  ucuc,  p-  162, 

rundo  auteni."     See  above,  p.  Ki3,  and  note.  which  I  there  supposed  to  be  intended  for  "  com- 

'  The  reading  here  given  strongly  confirms  the  muniter,"  is  rcallj  a  corruption  of  the  termina- 

conjectural  emendation  of  the  passage  suggested  tion  vtrunt,  of  the  word  "  regnaverunt." 
note  e,    p.  162.     The  word    pin.  is  an  evident  »  Here  one  of  the  kings,   viz.,    Galum-cenam- 

mistake    of   the  transcriber    for    pil.  or  Jilius,  lapeh,  is  omitted,   but  he  is  placed  after  Drest, 

arising  from  his  not  understanding  the  contraction  son  of  Manaith,  as  in  the  Chron.  Pictorum.    See 

pi,    which   he   has   himself  sometimes  retained.  p.  163,  note  '. 


Ixxvii 

6pece  pi.  Uupjuc  .;eu.  a.  p. 

Oimoo  p.  Uupfoeg  .pen.  a.  p. 

Glpm  p.  Uupoio  .ui.  a.  i  oimfoio  pegni1". 

Opepc  p.  Calopcan  1°.  a.  p. 

Calopgfn  p.  Opuipcfn  .1111.  uel  .u.  a.  p. 

Calopcfn  p.  Omuipc  .pen.  -|  oimfoio  a.  p. 

Canaul  p.  Carijj  .u.  a.  p. 

Caupcancm  p.  Uupjuipc  .^jyc.  u.  a.  p. 

Uionuipc  p.  Uupjuipc  .;cii.  a.  p. 

Dpepc  p.  Conpcancin  -|  Calopc  p.  Uuchoil  .111.  a  conpejnauunr. 

Unfn  p.  Unuipc  .111.  a.  p. 

Uupao  p.  6apgoic  .in.  a.  p.  -\  6peo  i°.  a.  p. 

Cinaeo  p.  Qlpm  .;cui.  a.  p. 

Oomnall  p.  Qlpm  .1111.  a.  p.  -j  Cupcancin  p.  Cmueoa  .^.  a.  p. 

Qeo  p.  Cinaeoa  .11.  a.  p. 

5'p'c  mac  t)unjaile  .^i.  uel  .111.  a.  p. 

tDomnull  p.  Conpcancin  .;ci.  a.  p. 

Cupcancin  p.  Geba.;cl.  a.  p. 

ITlaelcolaim  p.  t)omnaill  .i^s.  a.  p. 

Culfn  p.  llooilb  p.  Conpcancin  .111.  a.  p. 

Cinaeo  [uel  Dub]  c  p.  maelcolaim  .un.  a.  p. 

Culfn  p.  llooilb  .1111.  a.  p. 

Cinaeo  p.  Cot.  .;cj:.iin.  a.  p. 

Cupcancin  p.  Culeam  1°.  -\  oimfoio  a.  p. 

Cinaet)  p.  t)uib  .uni.  a.  p. 

ITlaelcoluim  p.  Cinaeoa  .fyp.  a.  p. 

t)onnchao  hua  mailcolaim  ,ui.  a.  p. 

ITIac  6fchao  mac  pin  mic  6aig  .yui.  a.  p. 

tulach  .u.  mip. 

maelcoluim  mac  tDonnchacha  lappfin. 

A.S  the  foregoing  list  of  kings  is  so  nearly  the  same  as  that  printed  above,  pp.  158 
-167,  it  has  not  been  thought  necessary  to  add  a  translation.  It  ends  fol.  87,  a,  b, 
and  occupies  two  columns  of  the  manuscript,  which  evidently  contained  a  complete 

copy 

b  Read  anni.     It  is   curious   that  the  same  c  The  words  "  vel  Dull"  are  written  over  the 

error  is  committed  in  the  MS.  from  which  the       line  by  a  later  hand, 
text  is  printed,  see  p.  164. 


Ixxviii 

copy  of  the  Irish  version  of  Nennius,  although  only  a  single  page  now  remains.  It  is 
followed,  as  in  the  text  (see  p.  168,  supra),  by  an  abridged  translation,  in  Irish,  of  the 
beginning  of  Bede's  Church  History. 

V.  To  the  foregoing  documents,  which  may  be  regarded  as  the  principal  sources 
of  the  history,  may  be  added  the  narrative  of  Keating,  which  was  compiled  from 
them;  but  this  is  so  accessible  to  students  of  Irish  history,  that  it  will  not  be  necessary 
to  reprint  it  here — (T.) 

No.  XIX.     Seepage  153. 

The  viijorous  Mac  Brethach. — The  number  of  fifty  kings  demonstrates  that  Mac- 
bethach,  i.  e.,  Macbeth,  is  the  name  here  signified ;  the  letter  r  having  crept  in  by 
an  error  of  transcription.  Macbeth  Mac  Finleg  succeeded  Donnchadh  Mac  Crinan  in 
the  united  sovereignty  of  Fortren  Mor  and  Dalriada.  His  contemporary  and  subject, 
the  author  of  the  Duan,  calls  him  Macbeatha  Mac  Finlaoich,  vv.  102,  103.  In  the 
Nomina  Rcgum  Pictorum,  Innes  ii.  p.  803,  Chron.  Regum  Scotiae,  ib.  p.  791,  and 
Register  of  Loch  Levin,  his  father  is  respectively  called  Finleg,  Findleg,  and  Finlach. 
The  catalogue  in  Cambrensis  Eversus  writes  Finlaigh.  That  which  is  given  above, 
p.  1 66,  and  p.  Ixxvii.,  absurdly  says,  Macbeathad,  son  of  Fin,  grandson  of  Laig!  This 
is  the  ancient  Irish  name  of  Finloga,  borne  by  the  fathers  of  Finnian  of  Clonard  and 
Brendan  of  Clonfert ;  and  it  is  the  modern  Scotch  name  Finlay.  John  of  Fordun  (with 
im  in-norance,  or  contempt  of  truth,  of  which  the  former  would  be  surprising)  makes 
it  the  woman's  name,  Finele  ;  of  which  hereafter.  Hector  Boece,  his  right  worthy 
follower  (246  b.  249  b.),  has  changed  her  into  a  man,  Synele,  yet  retains  the  locality 
of  that  famous  woman  in  Angus;  and  he  furnished  the  history  to  Holinshed  and 

Shakspeare, 

"  By  Sinel's  death,  I  know,  I  am  Thane  of  Glamis." 

Among  those  hereditary  lords  of  provinces,  who  were  called  in  North  Britain 
maormors  or  mormaers,  and  whom  the  Irish  writers  often  called  righ  or  ri,  was  a 
certain  Rudri  or  Ruaidhre.  He  had  two  sons,  Malbrigid  and  Fiuleg.  The  latter, 
whom  Ulster  Annals  describe  simply  as  being  a  "  ri  Alban,"  was,  according  to  Tigh- 
ernach,  "  the  mormaer  of  the  sons  of  Croeb ;"  but  I  cannot  find  it  stated  what  terri- 
tory that  clan  possessed;  and  he  was,  in  1020,  "slain  by  the  sons  of  his  brother 
Malbrigid."  In  1029,  one  of  his  nephews  and  destroyers,  Maelcolaim  Mac  Maelbrigdi 
Mac  Ruadri,  called  by  Tighernach  a  "  ri  Alban,"  died.  And,  in  1032,  another  nephew, 
"  Gilla-Comgan  mac  Maelbrigdi,  Mormaer  Murebe  (of  Moray  or  Murray),  was  burnt, 
and  fifty  others  with  him."  In  1040,  Mac  beth  Mac  Finleg  MacRuadri  became  ardrigh 
of  Albany,  and  was  slain  in  the  last  days  of  1056.  In  1057,  Lulach,  son  of  Gilcorngau, 


Ixxix 

was  reigning,  and  died  ardrigli  of  Albany.  And,  in  1085,  Maelsnectai,  son  of  Lulach, 
and  ri  Muireb,  died  feliciter  or  in  peace.  Such,  I  believe,  is  the  amount  of  the  ex- 
tant notices  of  the  house  of  Ruadhri. 

Finnleikr  Jarl  the  Scot  is  mentioned  at  the  close  of  the  tenth  age,  as  contending 
against  Sigurd  Hlodverson,  Earl  of  Orkney  (who  afterwards  fell  in  the  battle  of 
Clontarf),  with  superior  forces  but  inferior  fortune,  in  a  battle  fought  at  the 
Skidamyrid  in  Caithness.  Olaf's  Tryggvasonar  Saga,  i.  p.  199.  1825.  The  same  page 
mentions  a  previous  victory  gained  in  Caithness  by  Liot,  Sigurd's  uncle,  over  Marg- 
biodr,  another  Scozkan  jarl,  or  Scottish  maonnor.  Macbeth  Mac  Finleg  was  too  young 
for  the  tale  to  be  true  of  him ;  yet  I  think  it  exhibits  a  Norse6  corruption  of  some  of 
the  spellings  of  ,his  name.  The  celebrity  of  Finleg's  name  among  the  Northmen  may 
be  argued  from  the  fabulous  romance  entitled  Samson  Fagra's  Saga,  where  Finlauar 
figures  as  a  Jarl  of  Brettaland,  Britain.  See  that  Saga,  c.  v.  p.  6,  c.  vii.  p.  10,  in 
Biorner's  Nordiska  Kampa  Dater.  We  know  that  Moray  was  hereditary  in  the  house 
of  Malbrigid  ;  and  I  suspect  the  mic  Croeb  were  seated  in  Crombath  or  Cromarty,  or 
more  generally  in  Ross.  For  in  Macbeth's  dream  of  the  weird  sisters,  the  first  of  the 
three  salutations,  descriptive  of  his  natural  and  first  estate,  was,  "Lo!  yonder  the 
Thane  of  Crwmbawchty !" — Wyntoivit's  Cron.  vi.  cap.  xviii.  Crombath,  as  now 
limited,  is  the  eastern  angle  and  estuary  of  the  extensive  Land  of  Ross ;  in  which 
territory  it  is,  therefore,  probable,  that  Finleg  Mac  Ruadri  had  his  estates  or  domi- 
nions. 

I  think  that  his  brother,  Malbrigid  (whose  death  is  unchronicled,  but  seems  to 
have  occurred  anterior  to  1020),  was  probably  that  jarl  of  the  Scots,  Melbrigda  Tonn, 
or  Malbrigid  of  the  Long  Tooth,  treacherously  slain  at  a  parley  by  Sigurd,  the  Nor- 
wegian Earl  of  Orkney,  who  had  overrun  Caithness,  Sutherland,  and  Ross,  and  even 

built  a  fort  in  the  Australis  Moravia Olaf.  Trygg.  cap.  xcv.  p.  194;  Torf.   Ore.  i. 

cap.  iv.  But  this  story  is  told  of  Sigurd,  son  of  Eystein  ;  whereas  the  date  of  Mal- 
brigid, as  well  as  the  magnitude  of  this  Sigurd's  encroachments  upon  Scotland,  would 
rather  require  it  to  be  understood  of  Sigurd  Hlodverson.  We  collect  elsewhere  who 
that  Maormor  was  whom  Sigurd  Eysteinson  had  put  to  death;  it  was  Malduin 
(Meldunus  comes  e  Scotia)  father  of  Erp,  and  husband  to  Mirgiol,  daughter  of 

Gliomal,  an  Irish  rex Torf.  Ore.  i.  cap.  v.  p.  1 6. 

Macbeth 

11  Marsh  of  Skida.  Melbrigda.     And  lie  represents  the  defeat  of  this 

K  Torfseus    had    somewhere    found   it   written  maormor   as  occurring    at  the  same   Skidamvri. 

Maghragda,   which  comes  nearer  to  Mac,  in  the  — Orcades,  c.  ix.  p.  25. 

first  syllable,  while  the  residue  is  borrowed  from 


Ixxx 

Macbeth  Mac  Finleg  was  certainly  married  to  the  lady  Gruoch,  daughter  of  Bodhe 
or  Boidhe. — Chartulary  of  Dunfermlin,  cit.  Pink.  ii.  p.  197;  Reg.  of  St.  And.  cit. 
Chalmers  Cal.  i.  397,  n. ;  "  Dame  Grwok,"  Wynt.  vi.  p.  18,  35.  That  Bodhe  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  son  to  Kenneth  III.f  or  IV.  whom  Malcolm  II.  slew  and  succeeded 
in  1003.  Ulster  Annals,  at  1033,  say,  ITlac  mic  &oeche  mic  Cmeaoa  DO  mapbao 
la  muelcolaim  Hlac  Cinaeou.  The  son  of  the  son  of  Boethe,  son  of  Kenneth,  was 
slain  by  Malcolm,  son  of  Kenneth. — Dublin  MS.  This  unnamed  man,  grandson  of 
Boethe,  nephew  of  Gruoch,  and  great  grandson  of  Kenneth  IV.,  was  slain  in  1033; 
but  nothing  is  known  of  his  grandfather's  fate.  The  violent  death  of  Gilcomgan  and 
his  friends,  in  1032  (and  perhaps  the  death  of  his  brother  Malcolm,  in  1029),  was, 
probably,  the  penalty  of  Finleg's  blood,  which  the  young  Macbeth  would  naturally 
desire,  and,  I  think,  did  not  want  the  power,  to  revenge.  That  Gruoch  was  his 
widow  may  be  conjectured  on  the  following  ground:  Gilcomgan  was  maormor  or  ri 
of  Moray;  and  that  province  descended  peaceably,  through  his  son  Lulach,  to  his 
posterity.  Yet  her  husband  Macbeth,  Maormor  of  Cromarty,  was  reputed  to  have 
somehow  acquired  the  government  of  Moray,  inasmuch  as  the  second  of  the  "  werd 
systrys,"  saluted  him  as  the  _/"«/«»•«*  thane  of  Morave — Wyntown,  torn.  i.  p.  216.  The 
intimate  connexion  between  Lulach  and  Macbeth  will  appear  presently. 

The  claims  of  Finleg's  son  to  the  united  crowns  of  Dunstaffnage  and  Scone  remain 
unknown  and  unexplained.  Donnchadh,  daughter's  son  and  successor  to  Malcolm  II. 
and  son  to  Crinan,  Abbot  of  Dunkeld  and  Abthane11  of  Dull,  was,  as  the  Annalists 
write,  a  suis  occisus;  or,  as  the  Nomina  Keguin  say,  was  slain  by  Macbeth  at  Beth- 
gowanan  (Lochgosnanc  ap.  Fordiin)  near  Elgin  :  or,  according  to  the  Elgiac  Chro- 
nicle, 

"  A  Finleg  natus  percussit  eiim  Macabeta, 
Vulnere  lethal!  rex  apud  Klgin  obit." 

However  Marianus,  who  was  about  twelve  years  old  when  it  happened,  acquits  Mac- 
beth 

f  Kenneth  Grim  Mac  Duff,  cousin-german  to  Inverness,  was  in  ancient  Moray  ;  ami  that  mo- 
Malcolm  II.  dern  salutation  is  equivalent  to  the  ancient, 

6  In  that  legend,  the  existing  and  apparent  fact  describing  the  Moravian  Mormaer  by  one  of  his 
is  elegantly  distinguished  from  the  second  sight,  j»rincipal  fastnesses,  as  the  Angusian  is  described 
or  vision  of  things  future:  I.  Lo!  yonder  the  by  that  of  Glainmis.  See  Hhind's  Sketches  of 
thane  of  Crwmbawchty  !  II.  Of  Moravo  yonder  Moray,  p.  1.  The  modern  division  into  counties 
/  see  the  thane.  III.  1  see  the  king.  By  what  is  of  no  use  for  those  times. 

lying  folly  Angus  or  Glammis  was,  in  later  times,  ''  For  the  Abthanate  of  Dull,  see  Macpherson's 

substituted  for  Cromarty,   will  appear  in  season.        notes    to    Wyntown,  and   the    authorities    there 
Calder  or  Cawdor,    now    situate    in   Nairn  and       cited. 


Ixxxi 

beth  of  direct  agency  in  that  bloodshed,  saying:  "  1040,  Donchad  king  of  Scotia  is 
slain  a  duce  suo.  Mag-Finloech  succeeded  to  his  kingdom."  For  here  the  dux  and 
the  successor  seem  distinct  persons.  Duncan  had  succeeded  Malcolm  in  1033,  and 
therefore,  when  the  blood  of  the  Lady  Gruoch's  nephew  was  still  fresh ;  but  nothing, 
unless  it  be  his  perishing  by  her  husband's  means,  points  to  him  as  guilty  of  it.  But 
if  we  may  credit  an  ancient  tradition  (not  to  surmise  any  lost  compositions  in  prose 
or  verse)  which  flows  through  channels  rather  friendly  than  neutral,  and  comes  to  us 
conjoined  with  virulent  abuse  of  his  destroyer,  the  son  of  Crinan  had  provoked  his 
fate  by  vicious  and  impolitic  behaviour.  For  Wyntown  tells  us,  that  he  made  the 
miller's  daughter'1  of  Forteviot  "  his  lemman  luwyd,"  and  begat  on  her  a  bastard  son 
who  afterwards  reigned  as  Malcolm  Ceannmor.  After  Duncan's  death  (so  the  story 
runs)  she  married  a  boatman  or  batward,  whose  piece  of  land  was  transmitted  to  their 
posterity,  and  called  the  Batwardis  land.  Wyntown  proceeds  to  boast  that  the 
Empress  Maud,  many  kings  of  England  and  Scotland,  and  Pope  Clement  II.,  were 
descended  from  the  miller  of  Forteviot.  He  certainly  knew  nothing  of  what  his 
contemporary,  John  of  Fordun,  had  written,  or  was  just  about  to  write,  that  Duucan'sk 
wife,  "  consanguinea  Sywardi  comitis,"  bore  him  Malcolm  and  Donald,  iv.  c.  44. 
The  early  writers  assign  no  sort  of  domestic  or  personal  motives  for  Earl  Siward's 
march  into  Scotland,  which  was  simply  made  jussu  Eadwardi  regis.  Simeon  Dunelm. 
in  1054.  Duncan  proceeded  to  load  this  girl  with  honour  and  dignity, 

"  This  woman  he  would  have  put  til  hyeht, 
Til  great  state,  and  til  mekyl  mycht  ;" 

but  that  bad  policy  was  put  down  by  the  revolt  of  the  son  of  Finleg, 
"  But  Macbeth-Fynlak,  his  syster  sowne, 
That  purpose  letted  til  be  downe," 

and  the  crown  was  transferred  to  his  head,  on  the  death  of  Duncan  at  Elgin. cap.  xiv. 

p.  206.     These  events  happened  in    1039  or  1040.     Macbeth  then  reigned  for  seven- 
teen years  in  prosperity  and  affluence, 

"  Rex  Macabeta  decem  Scotise  septemque  fit  annis, 

In  cujus  regno  fertile  tempus  erat." —  Chron.  Eleg. 

1  think 

1  Perhaps  the  fame  of  it  reached  the  northern  brought  about.  The  miller  and  giantess  are  de- 
kingdoms.  For  the  Samson  Saga  mentions,  that  stroyed,  but  the  wicked  son  survives.  Farther 
Finlog,  the  Jarl  of  Brettaland,  had  among  his  than  as  above,  the  matters  are  totally  irrelevant, 
subjects  a  miller  Galin,  and  a  giantess  living  k  He  does  not  say  "  wife,"  but  it  is  sufficiently 

under  the  mill  stream ;  by  whom,  and  by  their       implied.     Boece  and  Buchanan  improve  consan- 
son,  all  the  distresses  of  that  wild  romance  are       guinea  into  filia. 
IRISH  AKCH.  SOC.    1 6  1 


Ixxxii 

I  think  the  death  of  Malcolm  II.,  leaving  only  grandchildren  through  his  daugh- 
ters, produced  a  disputed  succession  ab  initio.  Simeon  of  Durham  was  perhaps  born 
about  the  time  of  Macbeth's  death,  since  he  died  about  seventy-two  years  later.  He 
lived  near  the  Scottish  border  at  the  time  Duncan's  sons  were  reigning,  and  ignorance 
on  his  part  is  hard  to  suppose.  Yet  he  takes  no  notice  of  any  King  Duncan,  and 
says,  "  anno  1034,  Malcolm  rex  Scotorum  obiit,  cui  Machetad  successit." — Sim.  in 
anno  in  Twisden.  This  is  the  more  remarkable,  because  Marian,  of  whose  work 
Simeon  made  use,  had  said,  "  1033-34,  Maslcoluim,  king  of  Scotia,  died;  Donchad,  son 
of  his  daughter,  succeeded  him  for  five  years."  Simeon  must  have  held  with  some 
persons  who  counted  Duncan  as  an  intrusive  pretender;  and  implies  that  Finleg's  son 
asserted  his  rights  during  the  whole  time.  This  becomes  clearer  at  the  accession  of 
Malcolm  III.,  whom  Simeon  describes  as  "  son  of  the  king  of  Cumberland,"  thus 
owning  that  Duncan  had  been  appointed  tanist  under  his  maternal  grandfather,  and 
entitling  him  accordingly,  but  denying  that  he  had  ever  been  king  of  Scots.  Sim. 
Dunelm.  et  Florent.  Wigorn.  in  1054.  It  is  recorded  by  the  Northmen  that,  at  this 
same  epoch  of  the  second  Malcolm's  death,  one  Karl  Hundason  "  took  the  kingdom1 
of  Scotland,"  that  is  to  say,  assumed  the  style  of  ardrigh ;  and  they  appeal  tom  the 
contemporary  and  undeniable  authority  of  the  Orkney  bard,  Arnor  Jarlaskald,  of  whose 
poems  the  authenticity  will  hardly  be  questioned.  He  appeared  as  king  of  Scots  in 
Caithness,  supported  by  the  forces  of  an  Irishman  acting  in  Caithness,  named 
Moddan  of  Duncansby,  and  called"  brother  (in  the  sense,  I  suppose,  of  brother-in-law) 
to  the  king  of  the  Scots,  whom  Karl  appointed  to  be  his  general,  and,  on  Thorfinn's 
refusal  of  tribute,  to  be  Jarl  of  Katanes.  He  appears  to  be  described  as  cousin- 
german  of  Karl.  But  in  various  actions  Moddan  was  defeated,  and  slain,  by  Thorfinn 
Sigurdson  (daughter's  son  to  Malcolm  II.),  and  by  his  tutor,  Thorkell-Fostri;  and 
Karl,  equally  unsuccessful  in  hie  own  subsequent  efforts,  disappeared  from  those 
parts,  and  his  fate  was  never  ascertained. — Orkneyinga  Saga,  p.  31.  Karl's  forces, 
besides  those  from  Ireland,  were  raised  both  in  East  and  West  Scotland,  and  especially 
in  Cantire0.  He  was  son  to  Hundi,  i.  e.  Canis,  otherwise  Hvelpr,  i.  e.  Catulus. 

Sigurd, 

1  Tok  iha  riki  i  Skotlandi  Karl  Hundason.  ther   saint  or   reprobate, — Lanigan  ii.    325-6), 

m  Pinkerton  lias  the  arrogance  to  say,    "  this  and  that  of  a  Scotch  saint, 

fable  needs  only  to  be  read  to  be  rejected."_ii.  ..  ^  to  8t  M<xUm  ^  ^  ^ 

p.  196.  Some  to  St.  Mary  of  the  Lowes." 

"  Skota  konung's  brodur Nial's  Saga,  cap.  86.  LuV  °S  Latt  M'""rel,  vi.  st.  27. 

Moddan  is  the  same  Irish  name,  as  that  of  Modan  °  Called   in   the   Norse   tongue    Satiria.      See 

of  Kilmodan  Abbey  in  Longford  ^doubtful  whe-  Orkn.  Saga,  p.  39,  p.  115. 


Ixxxiii 

Sigurd,  before  marrying  that  king's  daughter,  had  defeated  the  two  Scottish  jarls, 
Hundi  and  Melsnaddi  or  Melsnata1"  (Maelsnectai),  not  far  from  Duncansby,  and  slain 
the  latter.  See  Nial's  Saga,  cc.  86,  87.  This  Hundi  should  be  Karl's  father.  Sigurd 
also  himself  had  a  son  Hvelpr  or  Hundi,  whom  Olaf  son  of  Tryggvi  took  to  Norway 
as  a  hostage,  and  christened  Hlodver.  These  events  happened  from  twelve  to  thirteen 
years  after  Finleg's  death ;  and  when  Karl'1  was  quite  in  his  youth,  for  Arnor  Jarlas- 
kald,  Earl  Thorfinn's  bard,  says  of  him  and  the  war  he  carried  on, 

"  tlngr  ollir  thvi  theingill," 

"  The  youthful  king  was  the  cause  thereof." 

Therefore  Karl  coincides  with  Macbeth  in  these  points :  in  his  probable  age,  in  that 
he  was  a  claimant  of  the  crown  on  Malcolm's  death,  that  he  did  not  then  succeed  in 
his  claims,  and  that  he  is  not  averred  to  have  perished  in  the  attempt.  But  he  differs 
in  the  names,  Karl  Hundason  being  very  different  from  Macbeth  Mac  Finleg.  The 
difference  however  is  evanescent;  for  the  Norse  word  Karl  is  no  more  of  a  Scoto- 
Pictish  name,  than  Philadelphus  or  Soter  were  Coptic  names.  And  the  Norse  word 
Hundi  was  not  any  name  at  all,  but  a  nick-name,  being  given  (both  to  this  Celt,  and 
to  Hlodver  Sigurdson)  in  the  alternative,  Hvelpr  edr  Hundi,  Hundi  etha  Hvelpr, 
anglice,  "  either  hound  or  puppy."  We  chiefly,  if  not  solely,  meet  with  it  for  a 
name5  in  Orkney  and  Caithness ;  and  perhaps  it  was  adopted  from  the  Gaelic  appella- 
tion by  which  alone  a  king  of  Scots  of  the  tenth  century  (a  vile  person,  but  whether 
so  called  on  that  account  I  do  not  say)  is  known  to  us,  Culen  or  Catulus.  Vide  Olaf. 
Trygg.  cap.  xcviii.  torn.  i.  p.  202,  ed.  1 825 ;  et  ap.  Snorro,  cap.  xi.  p.  145 ;  Torfaii  Ore.  i, 
cap.  x.  cap.  xiii.  Considering  the  synchronism  of  Simeon  Dunelmensis;  that  Malcolm  II. 
could  scarcely  have  any  claimant  of  his  inheritance  named  Karl,  otherwise  than 
through  his  daughter,  Sigurd's  wife;  that  no  idea  of  a  Norse  claim  to  the  succession, 
through  Sigurd,  is  anywhere  hinted ;  and  that  the  right  and  might  of  such  a  claim, 
had  it  been  raised,  would  have  been  with  Malcolm's  grandson,  the  valiant  Thorium 
Sigurdson,  Earl  of  Orkney  and  Katanes ;  I  am  induced  to  the  belief,  that  Macbeth  in 
his  youth  was  known  in  the  northern  jarldoms  by  the  Teutonic  appellation  of  Karl, 
man,  and  that  his  father,  Finnleikr  Jarl,  who  fled  before  Sigurd  Hlodverson  at  the 

Skidamyri, 

p  Mel  is  the  regular  equivalent  of  the  Gaelic  'Olli,  in  causa  fuit,  from  the  verb  velld,  efficere, 

Maol  or  Mai.  in  causa  esse. 

i  Therefore  I  have  rendered  the  ambiguous  *  I  mean  standing  by  itself ;  for,  added  on  to 

word  systrson,  applied  to  Moddan  (Orkn.  p.  30),  other  names,  we  find  Sigurd  Hund  and  Thorer 

by  cousin-german,  and  not  nephew.  Hund  in  Norway. 

12 


Ixxxiv 

Skidamyri,  was  likewise  the  Hundi  Jar],  dog,  whom  the  same  prince  defeated,  also  in 
Caithness ;  the  son's  title  standing  in  favourable  antithesis  to  the  father's.  Finleg 
did  not  fall  by  northern  hands,  neither  did  this  Hundi  or  Hvelpr ;  and*  Maelsnectai, 
the  name  of  this  Hundi's  colleague  in  the  war,  was  a  name  used  in  the  house  of 
Ruadri. 

The  most  violent  domestic  occurrence  of  Macbeth's  reign  happened  in  1045, 
namely,  the  bloody  battle  in  which  Crinan,  father  of  the  deceased  Duncan,  fell, 
preelium  inter  Albanenses  invicem,  in  quo  occisus  est  Crinan  Abbas  Dunceldensis  et 
multi  alii  cum  eo,  i.  e.  novies  viginta  heroes. — Tigh.  It  is  written,  that  Macbet  filius 
Finlach  gave  lands  to  the  Culdees,  i.  e.  the  Chapter,  of  Lochlevin. — Eegr.  of  Lochl. 
But  very  few  of  his  acts  have  been  permitted  to  survive.  In  1054,  Siward,  Earl  of 
Northumberland,  was  sent  into  Scotland  by  the  Confessor,  and  gained  a  battle  over 
Macbeth,  whom  he  put  to  flight,  fugavit. — Sim.  Dun.  in  anno.  Chron.  Sax.  ibid.; 
Flor.  Wig.  ibid.  Two  Norman  nobles  who  had  found  refuge  at  his  court  in  1052,  by 
name  Osbern  and  Hugo,  fought  on  Macbeth's  side  and  were  slain — Roger  Hoveden 
in  anno.  Ulster  Annals  describe  it  as  a  battle  between  the  men  of  Albany  and  the 
Saxons,  in  which  3000  of  the  former  and  1500  of  the  latter  fell,  and  on  the  Saxon 

side  a  certain  Albanian  (to  judge  from  his  name)  called  Dolfinn,  son  of  Fiuntur Ann. 

Ult.  in  1054.  By  like  order  of  King  Edward,  the  Earl  constituted  Malcolm  Ceannmor 
king — Sim.  et  Flor.  ibid.  It  cannot  be  said  what  portion  of  the  country  he  succeeded 
in  conquering.  But  whatever  Siward  may  have  proclaimed  after  gaining  the  battle, 
the  accession  of  Malcolm  is  universally  dated  more  than  two  years  later.  Siward 
died  the  next  year,  and  Malcolm  resumed  the  war  in  1056.  On  the  5th  of  De- 
cember 1056  (Fordun)  Macbeth  was  slain  in  a  battle  fought  against  Malcolm,  at 
Lumphannan  in  Aberdeenshire  ;  and  he  was  buried  in  the  royal  cemetery  of  lona. 
His  fame  has  been  both  obscured  «.nd  magnified  through  a  mist  of  lies,  partly  fabri- 
cated in  honour  of  the  house  of  Stuart,  but  now  immortalized  and  enshrined  for 
ever. 

After  the  battle  of  Lumphannan,  Lulach  Mac  Gilcomgain,  son  to  the  burnt  Maormor 
of  Moray,  first  cousin  once  removed  from  Macbeth,  and  perhaps  his  stepson  and 
ward,  was  proclaimed  King  at  Scone  by  the  opponents  of  Malcolm.  In  the  Nomina 
Regum  he  is  Lulach  Fatuus;  in  Wyntown,  vi.  19,  Lulawch  Fule;  in  the  Chron. 
Regum  Scotise,  temp.  Willelm.  filii  David,  simply  Lulach ;  and  in  the  Chron.  Rhyth- 

micum 

1  It  may  be  answered,  that  perhaps  Macbeth  main  just  the  synchronism  of  Simeon,  and  what- 
did  not  claim  from  the  Malcolms,  but  from  the  ever  is  conformable  in  the  circumstances  of  Fin- 
competing  line  of  Indulf.  If  so,  there  would  re-  leg. 


Ixxxv 

micum  (before  1291)  it  is,  absurdly,  Lahoulan;  MSS.  of  the  Duan  have  Lulagh  and 
Lugaidh".  The  Mac  Gilcomgain  of  Ulster  Annals  is  nepos  filii  Boidhe  in  Chron.  Keg. 
Scotorum.  Perhaps  it  should  be  filieo  Boidhe,  as  Gruoch  was  termed;  and  the  nepos 
is  ambiguous  in  the  Latin  of  those  days.  Whatever  it  means,  the  traditional  filiation 
in  Mac  is  of  a  greater  weight  than  such  a  passage  can  have.  But  in  that  passage 
(howsoever  we  should  correct  either  the  copy  or  the  author)  we  have  Lulach's  only 
title  in  blood,  that  I  am  aware  of,  to  become  tanist  of  the  supreme  crown,  namely 
his  descent,  probably  maternal,  and  through  the  lady  Gruoch",  from  Boidhe,  son 
of  Kenneth  Macduff.  His  reign  was  of  four  months  (Nomina  Regum),  or  of  four  and 
a  half  (Chron.  Reg.  Scot.,  and  the  prose  dates  in  Chron.  Elegiacum) ;  but  in  the  elegy 
itself, 

"  Mensibus  infelix  Lulach  tribus  extiterat  rex. 
Nevertheless,  the  old  Mr.  O'Conor's  copy  of  the  Duan  Albanach  says  expressly, 

"  Seacht  mbliadhna  i  bfhlaitheas  Lulaigh," 

"  Seven  years  was  the  reign  of  Lulagh." — v.  104. 

Another  copy  of  that  poem  has  seven  months,  seacht  mis.  He  was  overpowered  and 
slain  by  Malcolm  at  a  place  called  Essei  in  Strathbogie  (Norn.  Reg.  Pict.)  in  1057. 
Though  accounted  daft  or  fatuus,  headlong  temerity  was  probably  his  defect,  rather 
than  supine  imbecility.  His  want  of  prudence  was  fatal  to  his  cause,  for  Tighernach 
states  that  he  was  slain  per  dolmn,  and  the  Chron.  Eleg.  runs  thus, 

"  Armis  ejusdem  Malcolomi  cecidit, 

Fata  viri  fuerant  in  Strathbolgin  apud  Esseg, 
Heu!  sic  incaute  rex  miser  occubuit." 

He  was  buried  along  with  Macbeth  in  lona, 

"  Hos  in  pace  vires  tenet  insula  lona,  sepultos 
In  tumulo  regum,  Judicis  usque  diem." 

And  the  consideration  of  his  case  is  essential  to  the  reign  of  Macbeth,  the  topic  of 
this  note. 

His  reigning  seven  years  can  only  be  true,  in  case  he  was  associated  to  the  crown 
during  the  seven  last  years  of  Macbeth's  reign,  and  died  in  or  after  the  seventh  year 
of  his  own  kingship,  but  only  in  the  fourth  or  fifth  month  of  his  own  separate  reign. 

I  would 

"  The  latter  male,  for  it  is  a  distinct  name.  only  does  Boece  charge  her  with  instigating  the 

*  This  lady  left  a  sinister  reputation.     For  not       usurpation  he  imputes  to  Macbeth,  but  Wyntown 


Ixxxvi 

I  would  fling  it  aside  as  a  clerical  error,  did  I  not  meet  with  circumstances,  indicating 
both  that  he  so  reigned,  and  for  that  number  of  years.  Ulster  Annals  say,  at  1058, 
"  Lulach  Mac  Gilcomgain,  arch-king  of  Albany,  was  slain  in  battle  by  Maelcolaim 
Mac  Doncha;"  and  Tighernach  had  said  at  the  same  year,  "Lulach,  king  of  Albany, 
was  slain  by  Colum  Mac  Donchada,  by  stratagem."  Then  come  other  intervening  events ; 
after  which,  in  the  same  year,  "  Macbeth  Mac  Finnlaich,  arch-king  of  Albany,  was  slain 
in  battle  by  Maelcholaim  Mac  Doncha ;"  and  in  Tighernach,  "  Macbetad  Mac  Finlai 
was  slain  by  Maelcolaim  Mac  Donchada."  These  statements  declare  that,  though  one 
year  killed  both  kings,  Lulach  died  first.  Now  Tighernach  O'Brain  died  at  Clon- 
macnois  in  A.  D.  1088  (Ann.  Inisfal.),  thirty-one  years  after  Macbeth  and  Lulach. 
And  he  was  not  born  later  than  about  1020,  though  perhaps  earlier,  for  Marianus 
was  born  in  1028,  and  spoke"  of  liim  as  "  Tighernach  senior  meus."  And,  therefore, 
the  latter  is  likely  to  have  been  Lulach's  senior  himself.  But  Tighernach  could 
scarce  have  been  ignorant"  that  Macbeth  had  ruled  the  whole  of  Albany  during  seven- 
teen years  of  his  own  lifetime.  Therefore  when  he  represented  Lulach  (no  matter  if 
incorrectly)  as  dying  king  of  Albany  before  Macbeth,  who  had  been  such  for  so  many 
years,  he  did,  in  effect,  declare  that  they  had  been  kings  together.  He  did,  in  effect, 
deny  that  Lulach  was,  in  the  common  sense  of  it,  Macbeth's  successor;  for  had  he 
been  such,  the  very  phrase,  Lulach,  king  of  Albany,  previously  unheard'of,  must  have 
first  reached  the  ears  of  Tighernach,  together  with  the  news  of  Macbeth's  death.  Con- 
joint reigns  occur  among  the  Picts,  num.  43,  48,  63,  73;  and  of  the  Scoto-Picts, 
Kochaidh  and  Grig  reigned  together  for  eleven  years.  Such  authors  as  Boece  and 
Buchanan  are  not  to  be  quoted  as  evidence  per  se;  but  their  unexplained  statement, 
that  Macbeth  reigned  for  ten  years  like  the  best  of  kings,  and  for  seven  years  like  the 
worst  of  tyrants,  strangely  coincides  with  the  premises. — Boetius,  xii.  fol.  246,  b; 

Buchanan, 

even  imagined  she  was  Duncan's  widow,  and  mar-  historian  died  at  fifty-five,  he  was  twenty-four  at 

ried  his  slayer,  who  the  death  of  Macbeth. 

"  Dame  Grwok  his  emys  wyf  *  It  would  be  captious  to  reply,  that  this  an- 

nalist  has  mistaken  the  year,  putting  1058,   for 

The  truth  may  be,  that  she  was  privy  to  her  December,  1056,  and  April  or  May,  1057.    For 

husband's  death  and  did  marry  with  his  destroyer,  it  is  one  thing  to  misdate  slightly  the  occurrences 

in  1032,  when  Gilcomgan  was  burned.  of  a  foreign  kingdom,  and  another  to   ignore  a 

»  See  O'Conor  not.  in  Ann.  Ult.,  p.  327.      If  long  and  famous  contemporary  reign.    The  priest 

this  were  understood  of  some  other  Tighernach,  may  now  live  at  Clonmacnois,  who  will  say,  that 

the  case  would  yet  stand  well.     For  sixty-eight  Louis  Philippe  acceded  in   1831,  for  1830;  but 

years  was  no  long  life  for  an  ancient  man  of  re-  not  he  that  will  say,  that  he  acceded  four  months 

ligion,  and  celebrated  for  learning.      But  if  the  ago. 


Ixxxvii 

Buchanan,  vii.  85.  It  divides  his  reign  at  the  precise  point  of  seven  years,  and  changes 
its  temper,  with  no  alleged  reason,  but  in  harmony  with  that  of  a  Fatuus.  We 
read  in  a  text  of  the  contemporary  Duan,  that  Lulach  did  reign  seven  years  ;  we 
collect  from  his  other  contemporary,  Tighernach,  that  he  must  have  reigned  before  the 
death  of  Macbeth  ;  and  have  found  in  historians  the  assertion,  that  Macbeth's  last 
seven  years  strangely  differed  from  the  prior  ten.  It  remains  to  corroborate  the  latter 
by  the  testimony  of  worthier  authors.  Marianus  Scotus  (born  in  1028,  as  he  states, 
p.  450,  ed.  Pistorii,  1613,  and  twenty-nine  years  old  when  Macbeth  died)  says,  at  the 
year  1050,  Eex  Scotias  Machctad  Komae  argentum  seminando  pauperibus  distribuit. 
Simeon  of  Durham,  who  died  about  half  a  century  later  than  Marian,  at  the  same 
year  says  the  same,  only  putting  the  word  fpargendo  for  the  words  seminando  pauperibus. 
Lulach  died  in  1057,  and  1050  is  the  year  at  which  his  Duan  reign  commenced,  and 
at  which  the  historians  date  the  change  in  Macbeth's  administration.  Marianus 
neither  avers  that  he  took  the  money  to  Eome,  nor  that  he  sent  it ;  but  he  couples 
the  ambiguous  word  distribuit  with  the  gerund  seminando,  which  graphically  ex- 
hibits him  casting  his  largesses  among  the  crowd.  Wyntown,  a  simple  and  faithful 
writer,  so  understood  the  matter: 

"  Quhen  Leo  the  Tend  [ninth]  was  Pape  of  Rome, 
As  pjlgryne  to  the  curt  he  come, 
And  in  his  almus  he  sew  [seminavit]  sylver 
Til  all  pure  folk  that  had  myster  [need]." — vi.  p.  226. 

But  he  was  again  in  Scotland  before  the  end  of  the  year  1052 — Hoveden  in  anno. 
Certainly  the  fact  of  his  pilgrimage  to  Rome  (of  which  Canute  the  Great  had  set  the 
example  some  twenty  years  before)  can  only  be  denied  by  putting  a  harsh  construc- 
tion on  the  words  of  Marianus,  or  by  rejecting  his  testimony,  than  which  we  cannot 
look  for  better,  as  he  had  not  emigrated  to  Germany  in  1050.  But  that  fact,  if  ad- 
mitted, remarkably  confirms  the  premises,  for  it  shews  him  actually  quitting  for  a 
time,  and  therefore  intrusting  to  another,  the  helm  of  government  in  the  year  in 
question.  And,  if  he  intrusted  it  to  another,  then  to  what  other  than  him,  who  is 
asserted  to  have  come  to  the  crown  at  that  very  date,  and  who  is  assumed  to  have 
been  king  of  Albany  before  Macbeth's  death  ?  Likewise  the  reading  of  the  Duan, 
which  confines  him  to  months,  gives  seven  months,  a  number  quite  different  from  all 
the  other  accounts  of  his  sole  reign.  It  may  therefore  well  be  credited,  that  his 
entire  reign  was  seven  years,  and  his  sole  reign  of  three  or  four  months.  For  the 
authority  of  the  Scottish  documents  in  general  leads  us  to  suppose,  in  opposition  to 
the  Irish  annalists,  that  Lulach  did  survive  Macbeth. 

I  am 


Ixxxviii 

I  am  not  only  at  a  loss  for  Macbeth's  claim  (hereditary  or1  tanastic)  to  the  crown, 
but  am  unable  to  satisfy  myself  as  to  his  appellation.  I  do  not  understand  how  the 
son  of  Finleg  is  called  son  of  Beth ;  or  how  a  filiation,  even  if  true,  could  supply  the 
place  of  a  name  in  the  ancient  mode  of  nomenclature.  Yet  we  read  of  his  contemporary, 
Macbeathaidh  M'Ainmirech :  and  in  the  ninth  century  St.  Macbethu  and  two  other  Irish 
pilgrims  visited  England. — Sax.  Chron.  in  891.  Probably  it  expresses  the  mother's 
name,  and  so  resembles  the  use  of  Mac  Ere,  with  this  difference,  that  the  great  fame 
of  Erca,  the  mother  of  kings,  partly  superseded  Muirchertach's  own  name,  but  Macbeth 
had  no  other.  The  name  Beathaig  is  said,  in  Armstrong's  Dictionary,  to  be  Gaelic 
for  Sophia,  and  the  Gaelic  Society's  Dictionary  says  that  Beathag  means  Rebecca.  As 
wisdom  is  blessed,  and  Rebecca  was  blessed,  this  curious  identity  of  dissimilar  names 
resolves  itself  into  the  Latin  Beata.  We  know  not  who  Macbeth's  mother  was  ;  for 
Wyntown's  tale,  that  she  was  Duncan's  sister,  and  that  of  Boece,  that  she  was  Doada, 
Duncan's  maternal  aunt,  have  no  firm  basis  in  history.  But  the  name  Beathaig,  or 
Beata  in  Latin,  is  the  same  with  that  of  Bethoc  (as  the  older  Latin  documents'  term 
her),  daughter  to  Malcolm  II.,  wife  to  Crinan  of  Dunkeld,  and  mother  of  Duncan ; 
the  Beatrix  of  Fordun,  Boece,  and  Buchanan.  That  is  apparent  from  the  Elegiacal 
Chronicles  of  Melrose,  for  I  cannot  understand  them  otherwise  than  by  taking  Bethoc 
to  mean  Beata: 

"  Abbatis  Crini,  jam  diet!  filia  regis, 

Uxor  erat  Bethoc,  nomine  diyna  sibi." 

The  name  is  formed  on  the  types,  Beathaidh,  Bethad,  or  Betad,  and,  by  contemporary 
clerical  error,  Hetad;  and  Beathaigh,  Bethach,  or  Betac;  fortheBethu  of  the  Saxon, 
though  curious,  cannot  be  relied  on.  This  oscitancy  may  be  referred  to  its  irregular 
and  exotic  origin.  It  is  singular  that  the  very  same  alternation  shews  itself  in  Daoda 
and  Doaca,  Macbeth's  mother  in  Boece  and  in  Buchanan;  being,  as  it  were,  decapi- 
tations of  Bethod  and  Bethoc.  Therefore  I  take  Macbethach,  Macbeathaidh,  Mic- 
beatha,  Macbeth,  Macbethu,  &c.,  to  mean  Filius  Beata; ;  and  suspect  it  to  signify,  in 
this  particular  instance,  that  Bethoc,  daughter  of  Malcolm,  gave  birth  to  Finleg's  son, 
either  before  or  during  her  union  with  Crinan,  or  after  some  dissolution  thereof.  The 
legend  that  he  was  son  to  Duncan's  sister,  would  make  him  a  grandson  of  Bethoe, 
while  Boece  makes  him  her  nephew — Wynt.  vi.  1 6,  v.  47 ;  Boetius,  246,  b.  But  the 

same 

v  Since   the  time  of  Kenneth  III.  or  IV.,  son       and  the  nearer  line  of  Duff. 

of  Malcolm,  the  two  principles  of  succession  had  z  And  as  other  women  were  called.     See  Char- 

been  conflicting;  and  the  former  gaining    upon       tul.  of  Jedburg,  ap.  Pink.  ii.  192. 
the  latter,  to  the  prejudice  of  both  Indulf's  line 


Ixxxix 

same  fable  of  his  birth  supposes  the  incontinence"  of  his  mother ;  for  she  sauntered 
into  a  wood,  where  she  met 

"  A  fayr  man   •   •    • 
Of  bewte  plesand,  and  of  hycht 
Proportiowned  well  in  all  mesoure,  &c. : 
Thar  in  tliar  gainyn  and  thar  play 
That  persown  by  that  woman  lay, 
And  on  her  that  tyme  to  sowne  gat 
This  Makbeth." — vi.  18,  vv.  59-74. 

That  lover,  it  is  added,  was  the  Devil  himself;  which  accounts  for  Wyntown  always 
calling  him  Makbeth- Fynlak,  not  son  of  Fynlak;  but  does  not  equally  agree  with  hib 
Latin  quotation, 

"  Of  this  matere  are  thire  wers 
In  Latyne  wryttene  to  rehers  •  •   •   • 
A  Fynlake  natus  percussit  eum  Macabeda." 

But  if  we  substitute  Finleg  for  Satan,  and  Duncan's  mother  for  his  sister,  Mac- 
beatach  in  one  word  becomes  Mac  Beatach  in  two,  and  the  whole  affair  receives  eluci- 
dation. The  blood  of  Malcolm  II.  is  as  good  in  Macbeth  as  in  his  half  brother 
Duncan,  legitimacy  excepted ;  and  if  it  was  proposed  to  make  the  bastard  of  the 
miller's  daughter  tanist  of  all  Albany,  that  argument  was  abandoned. 

In  A.  D.  994,  Kenneth  III.  or  IV.  father  of  Malcolm  II.,  grandfather  of  Bethoc 
and  great-grandfather  of  Duncan,  was  a  suis  occisus,  and  per  dolum. — Tigh.  and  Ann. 
Ult.  It  is  said,  the  lady  Finele  or  Fenella,  daughter  of  Cruchne  or  Cruthneth,  thane 
of  Angus  or  Forfar,  and  mother  to  Cruthlint,  chieftain  of  Mearns,  instigated  her  son 
to  murder  her  father,  for  which  he  was  put  to  death  by  Kenneth.  To  revenge  his 
death  and  to  advance  the  rival  interests  of  the  families  of  Culen  and  Duff,  she  allured 
Kenneth  into  her  house  (probably  Glammis  castle)  and  there  assassinated  him.  It 

may 

a  Who,    therefore,     could    not     be    "  nomine  the   Scoto-Saxon  era,  the  history  of  the  house  of 
digna."     But  it  is  very    plain,   that   the    Scoto-  Kuadri  in  the  lines  of  Finleg  and  Gilcomgan  was 
Saxon  successors  of  Ceannmor,  and  their  writers,  obscured,   partly  by  silence  and  partly  by  false- 
delivered  a  different  sort  of  history,  both  in  state-  hood,  and  to  us  remains  the  amusement  of  con- 
ment  and  in  suppression,  from  the  previous  tra-  jecture  ;  but  we  may  as  well  judge  the  case  of 
ditions.     Till  Fordun  had  established  the  manu-  Warbeck  by  Tudor  testimony,  as  that  of  Macbeth 
facture  of  Scotch  history,  both  modes  of  thinking  and  Ceannmor  by  the  language  of  the  Duncanites 
continued  alive,  and   between  them  Wyntown's  of  that  era. 
honest  mind  was  bewildered,  and  so  are  our's.  In 
IRISH  AECH.  SOC.  NO.   1 6.  m 


xc 


may  be  supposed,  from  their  names,  that  this  family  (otherwise  unknown)  were  Picts". 
In  1033-4  a  similar  fate  befell  his  son  Malcolm  II.,  who  was  treacherously  slain  at 
Glammis  by  the  same  Angusian  family.  See  Fordun,  iv.  32,41,  44;  Boetius,  233, 
234,  246;  Buchanan,  vi.  pp.  105,  1 10.  John  of  Fordun,  availing  himself  of  that  lady's 
name  and  of  its  resemblance  to  Finleg,  has  published  this  account  of  Duncan's  death : 
"  He  was  slain  by  the  crime  of  that  family  who  had  killed  both  his  grandfather  and 
his  great-grandfather,  of  whom  the  chief  was  Machabeus,  son  of  Finele0." — iv.  cap.  44. 
By  transforming  Mac  Finleg  into  Mac  Fincle,  Son  of  Fenella,  he  sought  to  load  Mac- 
beth with  odium  as  an  hereditary  murderer  of  kings.  And  in  this  knavery  of  Fordun 
originated  the  whole  notion  of  his  being  thane  of  Angus,  or,  as  it  is  sometimes  styled, 
thane  of  Glammis,  a  residence  of  the  lords'1  of  Angus,  very  near  Forfar.  Boece,  who 
could  not  stomach  the  fiction  of  Mac  Finele,  reverted  to  the  traditions  which  made 
him  the  near  connexion  of  Malcolm  and  Duncan,  but  disguised  his  paternal  origin 
under  the  fictitious  name  of  Synele,  and,  with  Fordun,  placed  him  in  the  thanedom  of 
Angus.  In  this  manner  the  old,  and  probably  true,  traditions  of  Cromarty  were 
upset.  Thane  of  Angus  or  Glammis  merely  signifies  son  of  Fenella.  But  Finleg, 
Malbrigid,  and  Macbeth  were  mormaers  of  the  North,  or  country  above  the  Grampians. 
See  above,  p.  Ixxx,  note  g. 

However,  without  detracting  from  the  infamy  of  these  liars,  I  would  offer  this 
remark.  All  parties  seem  agreed  to  regard  Macbeth,  considered  as  an  aspirant  to  the 
crown,  as  the  son  of  a  woman,  and  to  find  in  her  bloo^d,  either  his  claim  to  the  crown, 
or  his  hostility  to  it.  And  if  in  fact  it  were  not  so,  I  do  not  clearly  see  how  that 
idea  should  have  established  itself.  Though  Finleg  M'Ruadri,  mormaer  of  Crombath 
and  the  Croeb,  was  a  powerful  toparch,  nothing  indicates  him,  and  no  one  considered 
him,  as  contributing  to  the  fulfilment  of  the  third  salutation — (  //.) 

No.  XX. 


b  Those  who  record  them  having  no  such  know- 
ledge or  intention.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
father  is  called  Cunechat  in  the  Norn.  Kegum. 

c  Mr.  Chalmers  asserts  (Calcd.  i.  406),  that 
Fordun  calls  him  son  of  Finlegh,  ami  that  he  men- 
tions nothing  of  him  or  his  father  being  maormor 
or  thane  of  Angus.  It  seems  that  he  had  not  read 


Fordun,   who   never  mentions  Finlegh,  but  calls 
his  mother  filia  Cruchne,   comitii  de  Angus,   cui 

nomen  Finele c.  32. 

d  Shakspeare,  from  topographical  ignorance, 
has  introduced  (in  Act  v.  scene  2)  a  thane  of 
Angus  bearing  arms  against  the  thane  of  Glammis. 


XC1 


No.  XX.     Seepage  153. 

The  section  "  on  the  origin  of  the  Cruithnians,"  occurs  in  the  Book  of  Ballymote, 
immediately  after  the  opening  section,  beginning,  650  Nenniup,  which  I  have  num- 
bered sec.  I.  (see  above,  p.  26).  It  is  as  follows  : 


t)e  bunab  Cpuicneach  uno  peo. 

Cpuichne  mac  Cmje,  mic  tuccai, 
tnic  pappcalun,  mic  Gjnoin,  mic  6uam, 
miclTlaip,  mic  Pachecc,  mic  lapech,mic 
Noe. 

Ipe  achaip  Cpuicneach  -|  cecbliaban 
&o  ippi  je.  Secc  meic  Cpuichneac  unnpo 
.1.  pib,  pibach,  poola,  popepeno,  Ca- 
chach,  Caicce,  Cipig,  i  pecc  panoaib  po 
poinbpec  in  peapanb,  uc  bvjcic  Colum 
cilli : 

TTIoippeipep  bo  Cpuichne  clamn, 
Rambpec  Glbam  i  pecc  paino, 
Caicce,  Cipijj,  Cechac  clunn, 
pib,  pibac,  pocla,  popcpeann. 

Ocup  ip  e  amm  jac  pip  bib  pil  pop 
a  peapanb,  uc  epc  Pib  -|  Ce  -\  Caic,  -\ 
peliqua. 

pib  ,5^:1111.  bliaona  ippije.  pioac  .^l. 
bliaban.  6puibe  pone,  popcpeanb  .Ij:;:. 
popcpeann  .Vrpc.  6.  Upponc.  Caic  ba 
bliaoan  ap  .pp.  Uleo.  Cipig  .Itpcpc.  b. 
6.  5anc-  Ce  .jcn.  bliaban.  6.  Uleo. 
Qenbeccan,  im.  6.  Upjanc.  Caic  .fpf.. 

bliaoan 


Of  the  origin  of  the  Cruithnians  here. 

Cruithne,  son  of  Cing,  son  of  Luchta, 
son  of  Partholan,  son  of  Buan,  son  of  Mas, 
son  of  Fathecht,  son  of  Japheth,  son  of 
Noee. 

He  was  the  father  of  the  Cruithnians, 
and  reigned  an  hundred  years.  These  are 
the  seven  sons  of  Cruithne,  viz. :  Fib,  Fi- 
dach,  Fodla,  Fortrenn,  Cathach,  Caitce, 
Cirig;  and  they  divided  the  land  into 
seven  divisions,  ut  dixit  Colum-cille: 

Seven  of  the  children  of  Cruithne 
Divided  Alba  into  seven  portions; 
Caitce,  Cirig,  Cetach  of  children', 
Fib,  Fidach,  Fotla,  Fortreann. 

And  it  is  a  name  of  each  man  of  them 
that  is  given  to  their  respective  portions, 
ut  est,  Fib,  and  Ce,  and  Cait,  et  reliqua. 

Fib  reigned  xxiv.  years.  Fidach  xl. 
years.  Bruide  Pont.  Fortreann  Ixx. 
Fortreann  Ixx.  B.  Urpont.  Cait  two 
years  and  xx.  Uleo.  Cirig  Ixxx.  years. 
B.  Gant.  Ce  xii.  years.  B.  Uleo.  Aen- 
beccan,  img.  B.  Urpont.  Cait  xxx.  years. 

B.  Gnith. 


'  See  above,  p.  51,  where  the  genealogy  of  5  Aenbeccanim. — The  scribe  appears  to  have 

Cruithne  is  somewhat  differently  given.  taken  the  numeral  denoting  the  year  of  the  reign, 

'  See  above,  p.  155,  note  '.  for  im.  the  usual  contraction  for  imoppo.  In  the 

m  2 


XC11 

bliaoan.  6.  J5n'ch'  pmecca  .lr.  bliaoun.  B.  Gnith.   Finecta  Ix.  years.  B.  Urgnith. 

ft.Upjmch.  ^UIDID.  5a°bpe-  6.  pech.i.  Guididh.  Gadbre.  B.  Feth  i.  Geisi.year. 

^eip  .1.  b.    6.  Uppeicip.    5erc5PUID  •&•  B.  Urfeichir.     Gestgruid  xl.    B.  Cab. 
xl.    6.  Cab. 

The  remainder  of  the  list  is  so  corrupt  that  it  would  be  useless  to  attempt  a  trans- 
lation.    It  is  thus  given  in  the  manuscript: 


.^cpc.  b.  .6.  Upcal.  6puioe  ponr  .per;:.  b.  Cnic  pi  Ulao  .li.  Upcinc  oe 
oobeprea  p'  b.  per  jac  pip  oib.  -|  b.  Upper  panoa  na  peap  b.  Ruaile  po  jab- 
paoap  .1.  uc  epc  illeabpaiB  na  Cpuirneac  6pume  Gpo  b.  5aPc  b.  CIpjapc  b.  cino 
b.  Upcmo.  b.  Uip.  b.  Upuip.  b.  5Plcn-  b.  Upjgiich.  b.  tTlum.  b.  Upmuin. 

The  gross  inaccuracies  of  the  list  of  kings  can  only  be  accounted  for  on  the  suppo- 
sition that  the  transcriber  (not  perhaps  the  transcriber  of  the  Book  of  Ballymote,  but 
some  former  copyist)  found  the  names  written  in  double  columns  (a  thing  very  com- 
mon in  ancient  Irish  manuscripts),  and,  not  perceiving  that  the  columns  were  distinct, 
he  copied  them  in  one  continuous  line.  On  this  supposition  the  list  may  be  corrected 
as  follows: 

pib  .^pcmi.  bliaDna  ippije. 

piouc  .pel.  bliaonu.  6.   Ponr. 

popceano  .Ijcj:.  6.  Upponr. 

Cuic  oa  bliaoan  ap  .p:r.       6.  £eo. 

Cipij  .Vycx.  bl.  6.  5ar>c. 

And  so  on,  where  the  reader  will  observe  that  the  intermixture  of  the  Bruides 
with  the  other  names  will  be  fully  explained  until  we  come  to  the  paragraph  which 
has  been  given  above  without  a  translation  ;  in  it  the  corruption  is  much  greater: 
but  it  is  also  explained  by  supposing  the  manuscript  from  which  the  transcriber 
copied  to  have  been  written  thus  : 

Up^ep  .ppp.  bliaoan.  6.  Upcal. 

6pume  pone  -Wf-  bli.  6.  Cine. 

pi  Ulao  ......  [bpui]      6.  Upcinc. 

oe  aobepceup'.  [i.  e.  ppi]      6.  per. 

jac  pip  oib  i  6.  Upper. 

Ran&a 

former  copy  of  this  list  of  kings  Oenbegan  is  as-  But  the  present  copy  is  so  full  of  errors  and  cor- 
signed  a  reign  of  100  years  ;  see  above,  p.  15o.  ruptions  that  it  is  of  no  value. 


XC111 


panoa  na  peap    ......     6.  Ruuile. 

po  jabpaoap  .1.  uc  ept 

illeabpaib  na  Cpuicneac      6.  Gpo. 

6. 

6. 

6.  Cmo. 

And  so  on.  '  The  transcriber  ought  to  have  written  down  the  first  column,  until  he 
came  to  the  words  illeabpaib  na  Cpuicneac,  and  then  to  have  begun  the  second 
column,  6.  pone;  6.  Upponc,  &c.  If  this  conjecture  be  well  founded,  it  will  follow 
that  Bruide  Pont  was  the  last  of  the  first  series,  and  the  first  of  the  kings  who  took 
the  common  title  of  Bruide.  The  words  pi  Ulab  would  seem  to  imply  that  B.  Pont 
was  King  of  Uladh,  or  of  the  Dalaradian  Picts  ;  but  it  is  more  probable  that  for  pi  ulao 
we  should  read  ano  uao.  (See  above,  p.  156.) 

The  Book  of  Lecan  contains  three  different  copies  of  this  section.  In  fact,  as  I 
have  already  remarked  (see  p.  154,  supra,  note  q),  the  Book  of  Lecan  contained  two 
copies  of  the  Irish  Nennius.  In  the  first  of  these  the  chapter  which  I  have  marked 
sect.  I.  p.  25,  supra,  is  omitted,  and  the  work  begins  with  sect.  II.,  "  Britonia  insola," 
&c.,  down  to  the  word  "  Saxons"  (sect.  III.  p.  29,  supra),  omitting,  however,  the 
list  of  British  cities.  Then  follows  : 


t)o  bunao  Cpuicnec  po. 

Cpuichne  mac  Cinje,  mic  6ucca, 
mic  papcalon,  mic  Qjnon,  mic  6uam, 
TnicTTIaip,  mic  pachechc,  mic  lauao,  mic 
lachpeo,  mic  Nue,  mic  6aimiach. 

lpheachaipCpuichnech-|  ceo  bliaoain 
oo  ipp'5'  amail  a  oeapap  peamamo. 
Seachc  meic  Cpuichnech  mpo  .1.  pio,  -] 
Pioach,  polcla,  Popcpeno,  Caic,  Ce, 
Cip'5;  T  '  .UH.  peanoaib  panopaca  peap- 
ano,  amail  aobepc  m  c-eoluch  : 

TTIotppeirep  DO  Cpuichne  claino 
Rainn  Qlbain  ippeachc  paint); 

Cair, 


Of  the  origin  of  the  Cruithni  this: 

Cruithne  was  the  son  of  Cinge,  son  of 
Luchta,  son  of  Parthalon,  son  of  Agnon, 
son  of  Buan,  son  of  Mas,  son  of  Fathecht, 
son  of  Jadud,  son  of  Jathfed,  son  of  Nea, 
son  of  Lamech. 

lie  was  the  father  of  the  Cruithnians, 
and  he  reigned  an  hundred  years,  as  was 
said  before.  The  seven  sons  of  Cruithne 
are  these:  Fid,  and  Fidach,  Foltla,  For- 
trenn,  Gait,  Ce,  Cirig  ;  and  they  divided 
his  land  into  seven  parts,  as  the  learned 
man  said: 

Seven  of  the  children  of  Cruithne 
Divided  Alban  into  seven  portions; 

Cait, 


XC1V 


Caic,  Ce,  Cipij  cecach  damn 
Pib,  Pioach,  polcla,  Poipcpeanb. 

Ocup  ipe  amm  each  pip  oib  pil  pop  a 
peapano,  uc  Pib,  -\  Ce,  -\  Caic,  ipc.  .;tiii. 
pioec  DO  jobpab  bib. 

6puoa  pone  .f^a.  pijuao,-]  &puioe 
aobepce  ppi  each  peap  oib,  -|  panna  na 
peap  aili;  po  jubpaoap  cpe  .1.  ap.  c.  uc 
epe  illebpaib  na  Cpuichnech. 


Gait,  Ce,  Cirigh  of  the  hundred  chil- 
dren. 
Fib,  Fidach,  Foltla,  Foirtrann. 

And  each  gave  his  name  to  his  own  land; 
as  Fib,  and  Ce,  and  Gait,  &c.  Thirteen 
kings  of  them  possessed  [i.  e.  reigned]. 

Bruda  Pont,  thirty  kings  afterwards, 
and  Bruide  was  the  name  of  each  man  of 
them ;  and  they  took  the  portions  of  the 
other  men  [i.  e.  of  the  former  kings]  for 
one  hundred  and  fifty  years,  as  it  is  in  the 
books  of  the  Cruithnians. 


The  second  form  of  this  ancient  fragment  of  history  occurs  in  the  same  connexion, 
and  is,  for  substance,  the  same  as  that  given  above,  pp.  50,  5 1.  After  the  same  account 
of  the  children  of  Galeoin,  son  of  Hercules,  who  seized  upon  the  islands  of  Orkney, 
there  follows  the  genealogy  of  Cruithne,  as  quoted  already,  note  k,  p.  50,  and  then 
we  have: 


Ip  he  aehaip  Cpuichnech, -|  cee  blia- 
Dain    ippije.      Seachc    meic    Cpuiehne 


He  was  the  father  of  the  Cruithnians, 
and  reigned   an    hundred  years.     These 


tnopo  .1.  pio,  -|  p\oach,  -|  Poclu,  -|  Pope-      are    the    seven    sons    of  Cruithne,   Fid, 


peann,  Caic, 
Colam  cilli. 


Ce,  -\   Cipic  ;    uc  oi;cic 


Then  follow  the  verses,  as  given,  p.  50, 

Co  po  pomopeac  i  .un.  pannaib  in 
peapann,  •)  ip  e  amm  each  pip  oib  pil  pop 
a  peapano,  uc  epc  Pib,  Ce,  Caic,  ipc. 
.;ciii.  pi  con  jobpao  bib  poppo;  -|  jubaip 
Onbecan  mac  Caic  mic  Cpuichne  aipo- 
piji  na  pecc  pann  pin. 


and  Fidach,   and  Fotla,  and   Fortreann, 
Gait,  and  Ce,  and  Ciric,  as  Columbcille 

said. 

after  which  we  read : 

So  that  they  divided  the  land  into 
seven  portions  ;  and  each  man  gave  his 
name  to  his  own  territory:  as  Fib,  Ce, 
Gait,  &c.  Thirteen  kings  of  them  pos- 
sessed [i.  e.  reigned];  and  Onbecan,  son 
of  Gait,  son  of  Cruithne,  seized  upon  the 
supreme  sovereignty  of  those  seven  divi- 


Then  follows,  as  in  the  text  (p.  50,  supra),  pinoacca  pa  plaich  n-6penn,  &c. 
The  third  copy  of  the  same  document  occurs  in  the  beginning  of  what  I  suppose 

to 


xcv 

to  have  been  a  second  transcript11  of  the  Irish  Nennius,  which  begins  as  in  the  Book 
of  Ballymote,  and  the  manuscript  from  which  the  text  of  the  present  work  is  taken, 
with  the  section,  Ego  Nennius,  &c. 

After  that  section  we  have  the  following : 

t)o  bunaoaib  na  Cpuichneach  anopo  booeapoa. 

Cpuichne  mac  Injje  mic  lucca  mic  pappchalon  mic  6uam  mic  TTlaip  mic 
pachechc  mic  lachpec  mic  Naei.  Ip  h-e  achaip  Cpuichnech  -|  ceo  bt.  oo  i  pi^e. 
Sechc  meic  Cpuichne  anopo  .1.  pib  •)  ce  -|  Cipich,  pt.  -\  i  peachc  panoaib  po 
pannpao  a  peapano,  •)  ipe  amm  each  pip  oib  pil  pop  a  peapann  amujj.  pib  imoppo 
ceachpa  bliaoaria  pichic  t>o  i  piji.  Pioach  .;cl.  bt.  6puio  puinc.  Poipcpenn  .Ijc^e.  b. 
Upponncatc  VT;CII.  Upleoce  p\.  Upleocipich  .Ipy:^.  b.  ^jancaenbeccan  .m.  b. 
Upjjanc  caic  .ppp.  b.  ^jnich  pmoacca  .1*.  6pu5nich  5111010  juobpe,  b.  Pech  .1. 
^ep.i.b.b.  Uppechcaipsepcjuipio  .1. ^l.  b.  Claupjapc  cpichu  b  .b.  Uppcal  6puioi 
POHC  cpicha  .b.  pijulao  oe  aobepchea  ppi  each  peap  oib  -|  punoa  na  peap.  6. 
Cmc.  6.  Upchmoc.  6.  PCUC.  6.  Uppeuo.  6.  Ruale  po  jabpaoap.  6.  ap  bt.  .uc 
oicicup  a  lebpaib  na  Cpuichneach.  6puio  6po.  6.  5a)1!C'  ^-  ^•P5aPc-  &•  Cinn. 
6.  Upchino.  6.  Uip.  6.  Upuip.  6. 5nocn-  6.Up5poch,  6.  ITluin.  6.  Upumain.  6.  Ip 
amlaio  pin  po  ppic. 

This  is  also  very  corrupt ;  and  as  it  adds  nothing  to  what  we  have  learned  from 
the  former  copies,  it  is  not  worth  our  while  to  attempt  a  translation  or  a  correction  of 
it.  The  scribe  appears  to  have  been  sensible  of  its  incorrectness  when  he  adds  the 
apology,  Ip  amlaio  pin  po  ppic,  "  Thus  it  was  found."  It  is  followed  by  the  section 
beginning,  6picania  inopola,  &c.,  as  given  above,  p.  27. — (T.) 

No.  XXI.     Seepage  154. 

Since  the  note  vi.  p.  x.  was  printed,  I  have  learned  that  the  gloss  scuite,  wanderer, 
is  not  found  to  exist  elsewhere,  and  that  suspicion  therefore  arises  of  dictionaries 
having  been  interpolated,  with  a  view  to  that  very  purpose  to  which  I  have  applied 
them.  This  has  induced  me  to  expend  some  further  observations  on  the  subject. 

The  first  point  in  it  is,  that  an  indigenous  etymology  produced  the  word  Scoti, 
having  one  T,  and  the  O  long  by  nature.  Though  Isidore's  direct  assertion,  that 
Scotus  was  a  word  in  their  own  language,  may  lose  weight  from  his  making  it  equi- 
valent to  Pictus,  and  explaining  it  to  mean  punctured  with  the  painting  needle, 

yet 

h  This  second  transcript  begins  immediately  which  the  first  copy  seems  to  have  concluded, 
after  the  Wonders  of  Britain  and  Man,  with  See  above,  p.  120. 


XCV1 

yet  it  shows  that  he  knew  of  no  origin  for  it  out  of  their  own  language.  Isid.  Hisp. 
Etymol.  ix.  torn.  iii.  p.  41 4-  Ed.  Arevali.  It  is  not  a  Latin  word;  it  is  not  British,  nor 
did  it  even  become  such  by  adoption ;  nor  is  it  fetched  from  the  Teutonic  tribes,  in 
any  form  that  I  can  esteem  specious.  But  the  name  came  up  under  Julian  at  latest, 
when  those  tribes  were  scarce  beginning  to  move  upon  the  empire's  western  shores 
and  ocean:  to  which  date  other  weighty  considerations  may  be  joined.  Firstly,  it  is 
absurd,  and  out  of  nature,  that  the  Roman  authors  should  exchange  a  name  handed 
down  by  Py  theas,  Eratosthenes,  Cassar,  Strabo,  Pliny,  Tacitus,  Ptolemy,  &c.,  to  adopt 
one  freshly  introduced  by  Saxons,  Franks,  and  Alans,  supposing  their  dialects  had 
furnished  it.  Secondly,  the  Irish  historians  restrict  the  use  of  it  to  one  of  their  races, 
while  foreigners  employ  it  generally ;  which  exhibits  the  usual  difference  between  the 
native  and  foreign,  proper  and  improper,  use  of  a  term.  Let  us  therefore  pronounce, 
with  Isidorus,  that  whosoever  were  called  Scoti  were  so  called  propria  lingua. 

It  remains  doubtful  who  they  were  that  were  so  styled,  and  when,  and  why.  That 
Porphyry,  an  Asiatic  sophist  of  the  third  century,  had  used  the  word  ZKurua  or 
XKUTUIV,  where  Jerome  put  Scotica;  gentes,  seems  to  me  very  unlikely.  The  third  of 
the  fragments  of  geography'  by  different  authors,  but  ascribed  to  one  ^Ethicus,  is  a 
mere  extract  from  the  first  book  of  Orosius ;  and  Ilegesippus  is  a  composition  of  the 
twelfth  century.  Therefore  Ammianus,  circa  390,  is  our  first  written  authority;  but 
we  cannot  otherwise  understand  him,  than  that  those  marauders  were  known  by  that 
name  in  the  year  of  which,  as  well  as  that  in  which,  he  wrote,  viz.,  in  A.  D.  360.  That 
Constans  in  343  had  been  opposed  to  Scoti  may  be  conjectured;  but  it  cannot  be  in- 
ferred from  the  expressions  of  Ammian.  When  the  name  in  question  began  to  be  used 
in  Ireland  is  unknown,  and  how  it  was  there  used  is  important.  If  it  were  an  ancient 
name  of  the  Irish  for  themselves,  unknown  to  foreigners  until  they  had  improved  their 
acquaintance  with  Ireland,  but  then  adopted  by  them  generally  (as  foreigners  know 
the  names  German  or  Allemand,  but  have  to  learn  the  name  Duutsch),  it  follows  that 
the  name  is  vernacular  among  the  Irish  people.  But  such  (I  believe)  it  neither  is,  nor 
ever  was.  Unwritten  discourse  does  not  so  style  them,  nor  does  that  of  the  Celts  of 
Britain.  Then  as  to  writers,  their  date  is  late  in  Ireland,  and  their  manner  of  using 
the  word  perhaps  unsatisfactory.  They  almost  all  possessed  some  Latin  learning; 
and  a  Gaelicized  adoption  of  the  Latin  word  Scotus  may  prove  no  more  than  is  proved 
by  Tighernach's  plain  Latin  "  monumenta  Scotorum."  It  is  not  evident  what  word 
we  are  to  accept  for  it  in  Irish.  The  poem  ascribed  to  St.  Fiech  of  Sletty,  st.  1 8,  em- 
ploys the  dative  plural  Scotuibh,  than  which  an  earlier  instance  may  (perhaps)  not 

readily 
1  Ad  Calcem  Pomp.  Mete,  p.  62.  Ed.  Gronovii,  1772. 


XCV11 

readily  be  found.  That  is  Scotus  with  an  Erse  inflexion.  But  others  have  Cineadh 
Scuit.  And  a  chronicle  cited  by  Dr.  O'Conor  varies  in  the  name,  speaking  of  Rifath 
Scut  or  Scot,  from  whom  proceeded  the  Scuit. — Proleg.  n,  Ixxxvi.  But  this  name 
is  taken  from  Mount  Riphseus ;  the  Scythian  my  thus,  garnished  with  a  scrap  of  Scy- 
thian geography.  That  either  the  Irish  nation,  or  that  major  portion  of  it  with  which 
their  mythologists  connect  the  Scythian  mythus,  ever  called  or  knew  themselves  by 
such  a  name,  either  generally,  or  vernacularly,  or  otherwise,  than  as  some  aborigines 
of  America  have  learned  to  call  themselves  Indians,  is  opposed  to  the  evidences  of 
fact. 

The  derivation  from  Scythse  is  strictly  impossible,  for  no  nation  so  styled  itself, 
though  the  Greeks  did  so  call  a  large  body  of  tribes  or  nations. — Herod,  iv.  c.  6. 
Dr.  O'Conor  observing  this,  and  that  their  true  name  was  Scoloti  (Herod,  ibid.),  tried 
to  deduce  Scoti  from  Scoloti;  thus  obstinately  maintaining  the  historical  derivation 
of  the  mythologists,  but  upon  a  different  verbal  etymology,  and  with  the  disadvan- 
tage of  the  additional  and  immutable  consonant  L.  But  it  is  the  wildest  excess  of 
credulity,  and  the  lowest  prostration  of  the  critical  faculty,  to  believe  that  the  eques- 
trian nomades  of  the  East  galloped  away  to  the  shores  of  Gaul,  and  there  dismounted, 
and  took  boats,  to  go  and  tramp  the  forests  and  bogs  of  Erin, — for  no  other  reason 
than  because  semi-barbarous  writers,  of  a  class  well-known  throughout  all  Europe, 
have  played  some  tricks  with  the  letters  S,  C,  and  T,  and  (what  is  more)  with  the  wrong 
S,  C,  T.  The  Scytho-Scolotian  theory  must  rest  on  the  basis  of  Scot  having  been  the 
national  and  vernacular  name,  without  interruption,  from  the  first  beginning  down- 
wards, than  which  nothing  can  appear  more  untrue.  That  very  portion  of  the  fable 
which  insinuates  truth,  by  making  the  Scot  colony  the  latest  of  the  Irish  denominations, 
proves  it  to  be  a  fable,  because  the  recency  of  the  Firbolgian  name,  which  preceded 
it,  is  proveable,  as  I  shall  show;  but  will  not  waste  more  words  on  such  a  topic  as 
this. 

I  have  observed  that  Scoti  was  the  name  of  the  Scoti  in  their  own  language ;  and 
I  have  also  observed,  that  it  neither  is,  nor  ever  was  (to  our  knowledge)  the  name  of 
the  Gaoidhil,  or  Irish  nation,  in  their  own  discourse;  and  can  scarce  be  said  to  have 
established  itself  in  their  writings,  always  excepting  such  as  treat  of  the  Scythian 
mythus.  Here  is  something  to  explain,  if  not  to  reconcile. 

Since  the  name  is  Irish,  and  the  Irish  nation  did  not  call  themselves  so,  who  did? 
Those  to  whom  the  Romans  first  applied  it.  But  who  were  they?  The  armaments 
of  marauders  who  came  over  from  Ireland  to  ravage  the  province  of  Britannia.  Such 
is  our  original  date  and  application  of  the  word.  The  question  is,  whether  it  was  an 
exclusive  application.  And  the  affirmative  may  be  supposed,  from  its  not  being  any- 

IRISH  ARCH.  soc.  1 6.  n  where 


xcvaii 


where  found  earlier,  and  not  being  found  national  in  Erin.  Thus  it  would  seem  as  if 
Irishmen  were  not  Scoti,  but  expeditions  of  Irish  warriors  and  pirates  were.  It  may 
B  here  well  to  remind  the  reader,  that  many  names  more  or  less  famous  in  history 
were  not  the  names  of  nations  or  countries,  but  those  of  belligerent  associations  of 
men.  Such  were  the  Bagaud*,  the  Vargi,  the  Aiteach-Tuatha,  the  Maroons,  the 
Chouans,  and  the  Pindarrees;  but  none  more  to  our  purpose  than  the  Vikingar'  and 
the  Buccaneers,  names  terrible  in  the  ears  of  foreigners,  yet  belonging  to  no  nation 
The  first  instance  I  know  of  the  territorial  phrase,  Scotia,  is  in  Isidore  of  Seville,' 
whom  David  Rothe  of  Ossory  cites  at  the  year  630.— Tractatus,  sect.  iv.  ap  Messing- 
ham,  Flor.  Insulse  SS.;  Isidori  Orig.  xiv.  cap.  6,  torn.  iv.  p.  171.  Arevali. 

The  same  Isidorus  has  flatly  affirmed,  that  Scoti  signfied  men  stained  by  acupunc- 
ture. And  it  were  wrong,  in  our  state  of  ignorance,  to  reject  with  flippancy  a  positive 
issertion,  which  may  have  been  derived  from  the  lost  books  of  Ammian,  or  some  other 
jrave  authority.      Nor  is  the  statement  absurd,  either  in  word  or  in  matter      For 
h  and  sgoth  are  genuine  Irish  glosses  for  a  flower,  which  will  either  apply  to  a 
people  painted"  with  flowers,  as  the  Britons  opposed  to  Severus  were  with  animals 
ypofoJj  ™«XW  (uuv,  or  generally,  to  ornament  by  diversity  of  colour;  AvOi^,  varie- 
tated.stmguo.-E.  Lluyd;  O'Reilly;  Scapula,  Lex.     This  laxer  sense  shews  itself  in 
nh    morbus  (Lluyd),  and  sgot,  «  common  speech"  for  spot  or  blemish,  macula  (ap. 
Gaeh  Soc.  Diet.;  and  Macleod  and  Dewar's),  seemingly  in  allusion  to  exanthematous 
^orescent  maladies.     And  as  regards  the  matter,  it  would  not  be  improbable  but 
e  reverse,  that  those  Irish  marauders,  who  first  came  over  in  fleets  of  coracles  to 
support  the  Gwyddyl  Fichti  in  their  depredations,  were  of  the  Crutheni  •  and  this 
bemg  probable  m  itself,  it  is  possible  that  the  name  thus  originating  may  have  inured 
to  subsequent  expeditions  of  the  red  Irish. 

But  the  same  gloss  hath  other  idioms,  flowing  (I  believe)  out  of  the  idea  of  flower 
Scoth,  chosen,  selected  (O'Reilly  and  O'Brien) ;  scoth,  choice  or  best  of  any  thing  • 
pooch  na  BFeap,  best  part  of  the  army  (G.  Soc.  Diet.).  To  the  same  idea  belongs  scoth,' 
a  youth,  a  young  lad,  a  son,  a  young  shoot  of  a  plant  ;  and,  perhaps,  also  scotha  and 
scuite,  said  by  Mr.  O'Reilly  to  mean  "  brambles  used  for  fences."  Now  it  is  certainly 
no  violent  supposition,  that  the  bands,  who  sallied  forth  from  Erin  in  her  piratical  era, 
both  were,  and  called  themselves,  her  r-corh  na  Bpeap,  the  flower  of  her  warriors. 

Besides  this  masculine  noun,  we  have  the  same  word  in  the  feminine,  scoth,  sgoth, 
a  boat,  or  small  vessel;  scoth-long  (boat-ship),  a  yacht — O'Reilly;  Gael.  Soc.;  Arm- 
strong. 

"  Scotha  Hibernis  idem   sonat  quod /ore*  sell       — Colgan  in  Vit.  S.  Scutini  vel  Scothini,  1 1  Jan., 
florum  variegatio,  et  scotadh  idem  quod  celeritas.       p.  10. 


XC1X 


strong.  This  will  scarcely  arise  out  of  the  first  intention  of  flower.  But  if  the  "  flower 
of  warriors"  had  so  adopted  that  description  as  to  make  a  very  name  of  it,  then  the 
vessels  in  which  they  plied  their  lawless  business  would,  in  the  usual  idiom  of  sailors, 
receive  the  same  appellation,  together  with  the  gender  commonly  ascribed  to  ships. 
What  is  yon  vessel  ?  She  is  a  pirate.  What  is  her  captain  ?  He  is  a  pirate.  And  so 
forth.  Should  any  one  say,  that  Isidore  had  lightly  assumed  Scott  to  be  an  Erse 
synonyme  for  the  Latin  Picti,  that  the  general  use  of  the  name  (so  rapidly  diffused 
through  the  West)  agrees  but  ill  with  a  narrow  derivation  from  the  Crutheni ;  and  that 
the  desperate  adventures  of  the  Flower  of  Erin,  in  their  pirate  or  flower  boats,  intro- 
duced this  late  but  famous  name,  he  would  (as  the  case  now  stands)  carry  my  humble 
approbation.  When  people  get  a  new  name,  we  may  also  suppose  new  circumstances. 
TheHiberni  did  greatly  change,  viz.,  from  mere  landsmen  to  a  race  of  pirates  under  sea- 
kings.  No  light  reasoning  in  the  abstract;  and  reinforced  by  the  fact,  that  those 
belligerents  were  the  first  (within  our  knowledge)  that  obtained  the  appellation.  In 
considering  Irish  words  with  a  view  to  the  elucidation  of  ancient  history,  it  will  be 
right  to  bear  in  mind,  that  letters,  as  well  as  signs  of  aspiration,  were  always  introduced 
into  the  writing  of  words  for  the  purpose  of  being  pronounced ;  and  that  any  eclipsing 
or  obliterated  pronunciation  of  a  letter  is  necessarily  an  idiom  of  speech,  subsequent 
in  date  not  only  to  the  word,  but  to  the  act  of  writing  it. 

I  have  withheld,  in  No.  V.  p.  ix.,  my  own  firm  belief  concerning  the  Tuatha  Be, 
because  the  argumentation  of  it  is  long,  and  incapable  of  compression  ;  but,  upon 
second  thought,  I  will  here  briefly  state  my  persuasion  that  they  were  the  great  order 
or  college  of  British  Druids,  flying  before  the  face  of  the  Romans  into  Ireland ;  and 
will,  with  equal  brevity,  set  forth  my  general  notion  of  Irish  origins. 

Hiberni  of  the  ancients.  Emigrations  from  Great  Britain,  made  at  dates  unknown, 
but  old  enough  for  the  two  dialects  to  have  diverged  from  their  common  type,  of 
course  fed  from  time  to  time  by  the  arrival  of  other  adventurers  or  refugees,  and 
forming  a  population  of  the  extremest  ferity. 

Firbolg.  A  colony  of  Gaulish  tribes  planted  along  South  Britain,  and  retaining 
the  same  names  they  had  borne  in  Belgium.  Cresar  speaks  of  it  as  a  known  and  his- 
torical fact,  which  remote  facts  in  those  countries  were  not B.  G.  v.  12.  Within 

living  memory  Divitiacus,  king  of  the  Suessones  and  other  Belgians,  had  reigned 
also  over  a  great  part  of  Britain — B.  G.  ii.  4.  That  is  to  say,  British  and  Gaulish 
Belgium  were  remembered  as  forming  one  sovereignty.  Within  eighty-seven  years  of 
their  planting  in  Britain,  the  Fergusian  Scots  denied  the  superiority  of  the  kings  of 
Tara.  And  we  shall  make  liberal  allowance,  if  we  say  the  Belgaj  had  held  South 
Britain  1 50  years  before  Ceesar  assailed  it ;  a  century  would,  perhaps,  satisfy  the  truth. 

n  2  The 


The  Firbolg  invaded  Ireland  from  Britain,  not  from  Soissons  or  any  other  part  of 
Belgium.  Because  the  Dumnonii  of  Solinus  and  Ptolemy  (popularly  misspelt  Dam- 
nonii),  were  the  Domhnon  or  Domhnan  of  the  Irish  Firbolg.  But  they  had  their  name 
from  the  dyvnon,  i.  e.  deeps,  little  valleys  among  steep  hills, — from  which  their  country 
is  still  called  Devon, — and  in  Welsh  Dyvnaint  •  the  permutation  of  the  V,  otherwise 
single  F,  with  the  M,  being  of  perpetual  occurrence,  and  the  two  consonants  used 
indifferently  in  manuscripts  of  no  vast  age.  See  Lhuyd's  Archaeologia,  pp.  221,  228. 
So  the  Irish  MH  sounds  V.  The  same  word  is  Doumn,  Douvn,  and  Doun,  in  the 
Armorican ;  and  Dom  Lepelletier  found,  in  three  lives  of  St.  Gwenole,  pars  Domnonica, 
pagos  Domnonicos,  and  rura  Domnonicnsia,  from  which  he  collects  that  there  was 
also  a  Domnonia  among  the  hills  and  vales  of  the  Armorican  Cornwall — Diet.  Bret,  in 
Doun.  The  name  of  the  Firdomhnan  described  the  surface  of  a  particular  district  in 
the  greater  island;  while  the  Firbolgian  tribe  Firbolg,  or  Belgae  by  excellence,  were, 
I  suppose,  from  the  royal  demesnes  of  Belgica,  near  the  Vcnta  Belgarum. 

But  a  people  do  not  thus  indelibly  receive  a  name  from  the  face  of  their  country, 
till  they  have  been  long  and  fully  settled  there.  Therefore  the  Firbolgian  conquest 
was  not  much  older  than  Ctcsar's  time,  if  it  were  not  a  good  bit  later.  And  it 
was  the  first  influx  of  a  civilization,  rude  indeed,  but  much  superior  to  that  of  the 
Hiberni;  the  first  emerging  of  a  gens  effera  towards  the  higher  rank  of  the  gentes 
barbara. 

Tuatha  De.  The  people  of  Gods,  or  the  people  of  the  [i.  e.  dear  and  sacred  to  the] 
Gods.  When  the  druidic  college  could  no  longer  maintain  in  Britain  its  vast  power 
and  mysterious  rites,  it  removed  them  to  Erin,  their  only  sure  asylum.  They  ob- 
tained superiority  in  that  island  more  by  their  treasures,  arts,  and  learning,  and  the 
engines  of  religious  awe,  and  as  gods  or  divine  men,  a  tribe  sacer  interpresque  Deorum, 
than  as  men,  by  arms  and  numbers.  At  this  date,  the  druidical  magic  was  systema- 
tically organized  in  Ireland.  They  have  been  called  Danann,  either  falsely,  from  the 
more  modern  Dani,  or  ancient  Danai;  but  rather  from  dan,  art,  poem,  song  (see  Keat- 
ing, p.  48,  O'Connor's  ed.),  which  derivation,  if  it  do  not  express  the  Druids,  sufficiently 
expresses  the  Bards. 

The  time  of  the  removal  of  the  hierarchy  was  after  the  unsuccessful  wars  of  Cyno- 
beline's  sons  against  the  Romans;  of  which  events  the  capture  of  Caractacus,  in  A.  D. 
50.  was  the  cardinal  point.  I  have  already  said  that  the  argument  vastly  exceeds  the 
space  now  at  my  disposal,  and  I  must,  therefore,  be  excused  for  speaking  meo  periculo. 
But  Firbolg,  saith  Gilda  Coeman,  ruled  during  thirty-seven1  years.  Therefore,  with 

their 

1   A  poem,  cited  by  Keating,  p.  39,  but  of  no  comparable  authority,  says  fifty-six  years. 


Cl 

their  fulcrum  in  A.  D.  50,  our  compasses  will  sweep  through  A.  D.  13  for  the  advent 
of  the  Firbolg ;  and  I  suppose  it  was  thereabouts.  The  magical  dynasty  prevailed, 
according  to  the  Psalter  of  Cashel,  during  197  years,  when  the  era  of  the  Gaoidhilm 
arises.  That  is  to  say,  the  Hiberni,  or  general  population,  quasi-indigenous,  of  Ire- 
land, resumed  that  superiority  which  the  Brito-Belgic  and  Druidical  migrations  of 
Britons  had  wrested  from  them,  changed  and  improved  in  its  social  energies  by  the 
infusion  of  those  more  advanced  races.  This  falls,  as  it  were,  upon  the  year  247, 
according  to  the  Irish  chronologers,  combined  with  my  date  of  the  transfer  of  Druid- 
ism.  But  the  emancipation  of  the  Gaoidhil  from  the  yoke  of  the  Tuatha  De  is  myth- 
historically  identified  with  the  rise  and  establishment  of  the  Scoti.  And  the  year  247 
is  only  seven  years  before  the  accession  of  Cormac  M'Art,  to  whom  I  have  (by  a  curious 
coincidence,  for  I  had  not  made  this  computation)  conjecturally  assigned  the  begin- 
nings of  the  Scoti,  as  being  the  first  recorded  sea-king.  But  the  year  50  was  only 
named  as  the  cardinal  year  in  the  misfortunes  of  Cynobeline's  house,  and  not  with  any 
idea  of  its  being  the  actual  year  of  that  great  transaction.  Therefore  there  is  not 
really  any  discrepancy  at  all.  I  cannot  refrain  from  thinking,  that  the  durations  as- 
signed by  the  seannachies  to  these  fabulous  dynasties  (durations  as  short  and  modest  as 
the  dates  are  remote  and  extravagant)  were  based  in  truth,  and  may  serve  us  for 
clues  to  its  investigation — (H.) 

No.  XXII.     Seepage  180. 

The  following  documents  seem  worthy  of  preservation,  and  will  give  the  reader 
some  of  the  principal  authorities  for  the  history  of  the  parties  mentioned  in  the  legend 
of  St.  Cairnech : 

I.  The  first  is  a  legend  preserved  in  the  book  of  Dubhaltach,  or  Dudley  Mac  Firbis, 
in  the  possession  of  the  Earl  of  Koden,  p.  112.  It  relates  to  the  history  of  Muredhach 
Mac  Eoghan,  and  his  wife,  Ere,  the  maternal  aunt  of  St.  Carnech. 

TTluipeaoac    mac  Go^ain  cecpe   mec  Muircadhach,  son  of  Eoghan,  had  four 

luip,   i   aon   maraip   leo;    nfluipcfpcac,  sons,  who  had  one  mother :  Muircheartach, 

TTloen,  pfpn&ac,  -|  Cijfpnac.     6apc   in-  Moen,  Fearadach,  and  Tighearnach.  Earc, 

fean  daughter 

m  Nomen  quo  Hibernenses  se  ab  iramemorabili  ginal  Irish  (and  their  colonies  in  North  Britain), 

distinguunt O'Con.  Proleg.  ii.  Ixxxviii.  as  distinct  from  the  Belgians  and  Dananns  ;  and 

But  its  history,  meaning,  and  affinities,  seem  its  etymological  affinity  to  Galli  and  Galata;  ap- 

quite  unascertained ;  it  belongs  only  to  the  ori-  pears  to  me  devoid  of  solid  foundation. 


Cll 


jean   toaipn    pij   Qlban    tnacaip    an 
cfrpaip  pin,  uc 


Cecpe  mec  la  TTluipfoac 
ppia  h-6pc  pa  paop  p6un, 
TTluipceapcac,  Gijfpnac, 
pfpaooc  agup  ITIoeun. 

lap  n-euj  riiec  Gojain,  cuj  pfpjup, 
mac  Conuill  ^ulban,  Gape  mjean 
^oaipn,  50  puj  pi  cerpe  mec  ele  Do  .1. 
peolim,  toapn,  6pennamn,  -|  Seuona, 
amail  appeapr, 

Cerpe  mec  05  pfpjup  Ppia  h-6pc 
ChuBuio  ceuona, 
PeolimiD  agup  toapn, 
6pennainn  ujup  Seuona, 

Camij  Gape  pfmpare  50  Cuipnfc  po 
nirpije,  ajup  oob  6  meuo  a  h-aicpije, 
jr,o  pleuccao  jaca  oapa  h-iomaipe  6 
Cliopaij  50  h-aipin  i  m-buoi  Caipnfc 
naom  i  ccpic  Roip  Oilij  (no  Ctilij), 
made  pe  opucc  pola  05  pnije  cpd 
b'uip  juc  mfoip  61  uj  poccam  Chaipnij. 
Hlo  cfn  DUI.C  ap  Caipnfc,  a  Gape,  -|  poo- 
pia  nfrh,  agup  jac  oapa  l?i  bup  uiprhfc 
jeubup  Gpinn  50  bpur  jupob  ooo  piol, 
-]  buaib  mnu,  -|  clepi  j  bib,  -|  buaio  cura 

1  corhloinn 


daughter  of  Loam,  King  of  Alba,  was  the 
mother  of  those  four,  ut  dixit  [poeta], 

Four  sons  had  Muireadhach 
By  Earc,  of  noble  worthiness, 
Muircheartach,  Tigearnach, 
Fearadhach,  and  Moen. 

After  the  death  of  the  son  of  Eoghan, 
Fergus,  son  of  Conal  Gulban,  espoused 
Earc,  the  daughter  of  Loarn;  and  she  bore 
four  sons  more  for  him,  viz.,  Fedhlim, 
Loarn,  Brennainn,  and  Seudna,  as  was  said, 

Four  sons  had  Fergus  by  Ere, 
The  same  were  worthy: 
Fedlhimidh,  and  Loarn, 
Breimaiun,  and  Seudna. 

The  aforesaid  Earc  came  to  Cairneach 
in  penitence;  and  such  was  the  greatness 
of  her  penitence  that  she  knelt  at  every 
second  ridge  from  Tory  island  to  where 
Saint  Cairneach  was,  in  the  district  of 
Ross  Oiligh  (or  Ailigh"),  at  the  same 
time  that  a  dew  of  blood  was  issuing 
from  the  top  of  every  one  of  her  fingers 
as  she  approached  Cairneach.  I  hail  thee, 
said  Cairucach,  O  Earc,  and  thou  shalt  go 
to  heaven ;  and  one  of  every  two0  worthy 

kings 


11  Ross  Oiligh  or  Ailigli This  was  the  cele- 
brated palace  of  Aileach,  near  Londonderry,  for  a 
full  account  of  which  see  the  Ordnance  Memoir  of 
the  parish  of  Templemore,  p.  27,  sq.  The  whole 
district  was  anciently  called  Tir-Ailigh  (ibid., 
p.  207);  and  probably  Ross  Ailigh  was  the 
place  now  called  the  Rosses,  on  the  Foyle,  near 
Oerry.  Ere  is  said  to  have  passed  in  peniten- 


tial pilgrimage  from  Tory  island  to  Ross  Ailigh, 
i.  e.  from  one  extremity  to  the  other  of  the  dis- 
trict belonging  to  her  race. 

0  Every  two. — Colgan  says  :  "  Hi  octo  Ercae  filii 
in  adeo  magnam  temporis  successu  crevere  gen- 
tern  et  potentiam,  ut  ex  eis,  viginti  sex  universas 
Hibernia;  monarchic,  et  omnes  Tir-eoganiae  (vulgo 
Tyronia;)  et  Tirconallise  Principes,  hi  ex  Sedna, 


cm 


1  corhlomn  poppa  ;  -\  lap  ppiorailfrh  eaj- 
lupoacca  o  Caipnfc  61  lapurii,  paoibij 
a  ppiopao  oocum  na  jloipe  piopume. 


6eanoacup  Caipnfc  an  rnaijinpm, 
cona  oe  ainmmjcfp  .1.  Ceall  Gapca, 
aic  lonoopcaip  Gape,  -|  pdjbaio  Caip- 
nfc coimeuD  ince  .1.  Cpiooan  Gppcop. 

Q  maicleaBap  Cecan  TDhec  pbipbi- 

PS  Pn- 

Gape,  umoppo,  ap  uaice  plomncfp  a 
mac  muipcfpcac  mac  Gpca. 

ITluipcfpcac  mac  TTluipfooi^  -\  Gap- 
ca, coij  mec  lep  .1.  pfp^up,  Dorhnall, 
&aooan,  Nellm,  ~\  Sjanoal,  arhuil  ap- 
peapr, 

Coij  mec  TTluipcfptaij5  50  m-blaio 
Hlec  IDuipfoaij;  mic  Gojam. 
t)omnall,  Nellm  gap^  50  ri-jup 
6aoDan,  Sjanoal  ip  pfpjup  (no  peop- 


Qoep 


kings  who  shall  ever  reign  over  Erin  shall 
be  of  thy  seed;  and  the  best  women,  and 
the  best  clerics,  shall  be  theirs,  and  suc- 
cess in  battle  and  combat  shall  bo  upon 
them.  And  after  ecclesiastical  ministra- 
tions from  Cairneacb,  her  spirit  passed 
into  eternal  glory. 

Cairneach  blessed  that  spot,  and  hence 
its  name,  viz.,  Ceall  Earca  [Earc's  cell], 
where  Earc  died  ;  and  Cairneach  left  a 
person  in  charge  of  the  place,  viz.,  Crio- 
danp  the  Bishop. 

This  is  from  the  copy  of  the  Book  of 
Lecan  Meic  Firbisigh. 

Earc  then,  from  her  is  her  son  Muir- 
cheartach  Mac  Earca  named. 

Muircheartach,  the  son  of  Muireadhach 
and  of  Earc,  had  five  sons,  viz.,  Fearghus, 
Domhnall,  Baodan,  Nellin,  and  Scannal, 
as  was  said, 

The  five  sons  of  famous  Muircheartach, 

The  son  of  Muireadhach,  sonofEoghau. 

Domhnall,  Nellin,the  fierce  and  puis- 
sant, 

Baodan,   Sgannal,  and  Fearghus  (or 
Feorghus). 

It 


illi  ex  Murchertacho  prodierunt." — Vit.  S.  Car- 
nech,  2  Mart.  p.  782,  c.  4.  And  in  a  note 
he  adds  :  "  Hsec  colliguntur  ex  Ketenno,  lib.  2, 
ex  Quatuor  Magistris  in  Annalibus,  Gilda  Mo- 
duda  in  Catalogo  Kegum  Hiberniaj,  et  aliis  pas- 
sim scriptoribus  qui  de  eisdem  Regibus  agunt. 
Omnes  enim  numerant  16  Reges  ex  Eugenii  et 
decem  ex  Conalli  posteris  oriundos,  quorum  ge- 
nealogiam  referunt  ad  Murchertachum  ex  Mure- 


dacio,  et  ad  Sednam  ex  Fergussio  Ercae  filios." 

p  Criodan Perhaps  this  is  the  same  whom 

Colgan  mentions  as  a  disciple  of  St.  Petroc,  or 
Pereuse,  abbot  of  Padstow  (i.  e.  Petrocstowe),  in 
Cornwall,  who  died  about  A.  D.  564.  Of  Crio- 
dan Colgan  says :  "  Cridanus colitur  in 

Lagenia  in  ecclesia  de  Acadh  Binnich,  die  1 1 
Mali." — Acta  Sanctorum,  p'.  586.  n.  11,  12,  13. 


CIV 


Qoep  pliocc  penleabaip  cianaopoa 
(nac  aicne  a  ujoap)  clann  ele  bo  bee  ajg 
rFluipcfpcac  mac  Gapca;  map  po  aoep  ; 
Ire  annpo  na  6pfcam  acao  ap  pliocc 
cuinn  ceuocacaijj  .1.  oia  ccuj  ITIuipceap- 
cac  mac  [Gapca]  bean  Cuipij  50  puj 
cerpe  maca  DO  .1.  Conpaicin  -\  "foamil- 
pichr,  o  cca  puipijj  -|  pij  6peacan  Copn, 
1  Hellin  a  quo  ui  Nellin. 


Hi  abaip  an  penlebap  aip  ace  pin. 
5'6eao  jibe  lenab  ail  luppmopacc  ap 
plojpaio  6pfcon-Copn  peucaio  an  ponn 
i  Sa_iuib  oa  n-joipic  i  8111,1  Cornwall, 
uaip  ajpm  6pfcamcopn. 


It  is  said  in  a  very  ancient  book  (the 
author  of  which  is  not  known)  that  Muir- 
cheartach  Mac  Earca  had  other  children. 
Thus  does  it  say :  "  These  are  the  Britons 
who  descended  from  Conn  of  the  Hundred 
Battles,  viz.,  Muircheartach  Mac  (Earca) 
having  espoused  the  wife  of  Luirig,  she 
bore  him  four  sons,  viz.,  Consaitin,  and 
Gaidil-Ficht,  from  whom  descended  the 
chiefs  and  kings  of  Britain-Corn;  Neillin 
a  quo  Ui  Neillm."q 

The  old  book  says  no  more  about  him 
than  this.  But  whosoever  wishes  to  in- 
quire about  the  kings  of  Britain-Corn,  let 
him  search  the  country  in  Saxonland,  and 
which  in  Saxon  is  called  Cornwall,  for 
that  is  Britain-Corn. 


There  can  be  very  little  doubt  that  "  the  old  book,"  whose  author  was  unknown, 
which  is  spoken  of  and  quoted  in  the  foregoing  passage,  is  the  identical  legend  of  St. 
Carnech,  which  is  for  the  first  time  printed  above,  p.  172,  seq. ;  but  whether  Mac 
Firbis  quoted  it  from  the  book  of  Ballymote,  or  from  an  older  copy,  which  contained 
also  other  similar  matter,  we  have  now  no  means  of  ascertaining. 

II.  The  following  curious  verses  will  also  throw  light  on  the  history  of  Muredach 
and  Ere,  the  daughter  of  Loam.  They  are  taken  from  a  poem  beginning  Gnna 
oalca  Chuipbpe  cpuaio,  "Enna,  the  pupil  of  hardy  Cairbre;"  of  which  there  is  a 
very  good  copy  in  p.  163  of  a  manuscript  volume  of  bardic  poetry,  of  great  interest 
and  historical  value,  the  property  of  the  late  O'Conor  Don,  by  whose  kindness  it  was 
deposited  in  trust  with  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  that  its  contents  might  be  exa- 
mined and  transcribed  by  Irish  scholars. 

6apc  in^ean  6ouipn  jan  len  Earc,  the  daughter  of  unsubdued  Loarn, 

maroip  na  n-occap  mac  moip-rpen  The  mother  of  the  eight  great  brave 

sons, 


ipu 


Whose 


q  Only  three  of  the  sons  are  here  mentioned  ; 
but  the  fourth,  "  Scannall,  a  quo  gens  Scanuail," 


is  given  above,  pp.  187,  189,  where  the  passage 
here  quoted  occurs. 


cv 


ipa  piol  ip  rpeopac  rail 
irjep  Gojan  ip  Conall. 

Cijepnac  ba  cp6n  a  pi 
ip  peapaoac  50  Bplaicpi 
TTIuipceapcac,  Picon  meaoac 
Clann  ©ipce  pe  TTluipeabac. 

Clann  Cijeapnaij  an  caoiB  re 
pil  Cijeapnaij  riiic  Gipce 
peapaoac  pem  plair  abaib 
6  caio  Cenel  peapubai  j. 

[Cenel  TTloain  co  meabaiB 
o  moan  mac  muipenoai^ 
niuipceapcac  co  meaoaip  m!n 
ip  ua6  aipopijpab  Oilijj.] 

Sil  pin  na  j-ceirpe  mac  min 
DO  paj  Gape  a  n-6ojan  cip 
plomnpioo  oaoiB  anoip  jan  paill 
pil  mac  n-6ipc  a  ccpic  Conaill. 


Qn  Gapca  ipa  clanna  pin 
injean  f,oaipn  a  h-Glbam 
cug  peapjup  mac  Conaill  cam 
i  ap  cpao  capeip 


Seaona,  Peiolimio  po  peap 
6peanamn  ip  ^oapn  lairhoeap 

clann 


'  Call  is  a  Brehon  law  term,  signify -ing  within 
the  tribe  or  territory. 

»  Eoghan  andConall:  i.  e.  Eoghan  son  of  Niall, 
of  the  Nine  Hostages,  the  father  of  Muireadach, 
her  first  husband,  and  Conall  Gulban,  the  father 
of  Fergus,  her  second  husband. 
IRISH  AKCH.  SOC.   1 6. 


Whose  seed  has  been  powerful  within', 
Between  Eoghan  and  Conall*. 

Tigernach,  who  ruled  with  bravery, 
And  Fearadhach  of  kingly  power, 
Muircheartach,  and  Moan,  rich  in  mead, 
Were  the  sons  of  Earc  by  Muireadach. 

The  race  of  Tighearnach  of  rich  domains, 
Are  the  Siol  Tighernaigh  Mic  Eirce, 
Fearadhach  too,  a  full  ripe  chief, 
From  whom  are  the  Cenel  Fearadhaigh. 

[Cenel  Moain£  of  the  mead, 

From  Moan,  son  of  Muireadhach, 
Muircheartach,  the  gentle  andmcrry, — 
From  him  descend  the  kings  of  Aileach.  ] 

Those  are  the  descendants   of  the  four 

gentle  sons 

Whom  Earc  left  in  Tir-Eoghain; 
Now  I  shall  name  for  you  without  fail 
The  descendants  of  Earc's  sons  in  Tir 
Chonaill. 

The  Earc,  whose  sons  these  were, 
Was  the  daughter  of  Loam  of  Alba; 
Whom  Fearghus,  the  son  of  Conall,  took 
To  wife,  for  dowry",  after  Muireadhach. 

Seadna,  Feidhlimidh,  well  do  I  know, 
BreanainnandLoarn,  the  right-handed, 

Were 


I  Cenel   Moain The    four   lines    enclosed  in 

brackets  are  supplied  by  Mr.  Curry  from  another 
copy  of  this  poem  in  the  Book  of  Fenagh. 

II  For  dowry  :  i.  e.  he  gave  her  a  dowry  ;  which, 
according  to  ancient  custom,  was  the  proof  of  an 
honourable  marriage. 


CV1 


clann  6ipce  oelbjopa  an  opuinj, 
ajup  Peapjuip  rnic  ConuiU. 


Nip  pajaib  peilim  DO  cloinn 
ace  Gojan  beag  ip  Coluim, 
nip  puj  6penamn,  peim  50  pae 
ace  mao  6aoicm  ppirbeupcac  (no 
ppircfpcac). 

fxoapn  ba  laioip  a  jlac 

pob  uapal  ppimjeme  a  mac 
Ronan  aeaip  na  mac  meann 
Colman  Seijinn  ip  £aippeunn. 

Na  cpi  mic  pin  o'pajaib'  6apc 

jan  c-pil  ace  naoirh  50  naoiriineape, 

Seaona  aice  p6  piolao 

cuur  raoipeuc  ep^n  piojpao. 


Seaona  mac  peapjupa  pail 
o  puil  piol  Seuonu  paopnuip 

Cmel 


Were  the  sons  of  Earc,  valorous  the 

band, 
And  of  Fearghus,  the  son  of  Conall. 

Feilim  left  no  children, 

Except  Eoghan  the  little,  and  Columv. 
Breanainn  of  happy  career  left  not, 
But  only  Baoithin™  of  the  goodly  deeds. 

Loarn,  whose  hand  was  strong. 

Illustrious   was  the   first-born    of  his 

sons, 

Ronan,  the  father  of  the  powerful  sons", 
Colman,  Seighinn,  and  Laisreanu. 

These  three  sons  which  Earc  left, 

Were  without  issuey,  except  saints  of 

saintly  power. 

Seadna  was  her's  for  the  propagation 
Of  people,  chiefs,  and  brave  kings. 

Seadna,  the  son  of  Fearghus  of  Fail2, 
From  whom  descended  the  Siol  Seadna 
noble  and  brave, 

Cenel 


•  Colum. — This  was  the  celebrated  St.  Co- 
lumba,  or  Columb-Kille.  See  Colgan,  Trias  Th., 
p.  477.  Eoghan,  his  younger  brother,  was  the 
father  of  St.  Ernan,  abbot  of  Druim-thuama  in 
Tirconnell Colgan,  Acta  SS.  in  1  Jan.  p.  7. 

w  Baoitliin This  was  the  successor  of  St.  Co- 

lumba  in  the  government  of  the  monastery  of 
lona,  and  founder  of  the  church  of  Tigh-baoithin 

in  Tirconnell Colgan,  Trias  Thaum.,  p.  480, 

n.  4. 

"  Powerful  sons  :  i.  e.  saints.  For  St.  Colman, 
who  is  also  called  Columbanus,  see  Colgan, 


Tr.  Th.,  p.  480,  n.  8.  For  St.  Seighin,  or  Se- 
gineus,  ibid.  p.  482,  n.  38.  It  is  doubtful  whe- 
ther this  was  the  Segineus  who  was  abbot  of 
liangor,  and  died  A.  D.  664,  according  to  the 
Four  Masters  ;  or  the  Segineus  who  was  Arch- 
bishop of  Armagh,  and  died  A.  D.  687.  For  St. 
Laisreann,  see  Colgan,  ib.  p.  481,  n.  26. 

y  Without  issue  :  i.  e.  Fedlim,  Brenainn,  and 
Loarn,  left  no  posterity  except  saints ;  but 
Seadna  was  the  ancestor  of  kings  and  people. 

1  Fail :  i.  e.  of  Ireland. 


CV11 


Cmel  £u  joac  coip  'pa 
pluaj  panao  50  piop  pollup. 

Clann   Ciapuin,    clann   Cponntnaoil 

cam 

ip  clann  f-omjpij  50  piojaio 
ip  laopin  50  n-jniom  n-jupa 
piol  Seaona  mic 


Siol  mtc  n-(3ipce  pin  jan  a\l 
a  cip  Conuill  ip  Gojam 
olc  pean  a  ccaipoip  boi  la 
DO  piol  cCopmaic  riiic  6nnu. 


t)o  cumnij  Sapc  comaio  0616 
ap  a  h-occap  mac  mop  blair 
peaponn  puire  nac  ppic  paill 
piol  mic  n-6ipc  a  ccpic  Conaill. 


Cujpac  mic  Peapjjupa  61 
Dpuim  f,ijean  ap  a  uaiple 


ap 


Cenel  Lughdach  in  the  Easta  and  here, 
And  the  hosts  of  Fanadb,  'tis  clearly 
true. 

The  Clann  Ciarain,  and  the  fair  Clann 

Crunnmaoil, 

And  the  kingly  Clann  Loingsigh, 
They, — the   distinguished  for   valiant 

deeds, — 
Are  the  descendants  of  Seadna,  the  son 

of  Fearghus. 

These  are  the  descendants  of  Earc's  sons 

without  reproach, 
In  the  countries  of  Conall  and  of  Eo- 

ghanc, 

111  did  their  friendship  work 
To  the  descendants  of  Cormac,  son  of 

Enna. 

Earc  besought  a  noble  gift 

From  her  eight  sons  of  great  renown, 
A  territory,  free  of  all  claimd,  to  de- 
pend, 

From  the  descendants  of  Earc's  sons  in 
Tir  Conaill. 

The  sons  of  Fearghus  gave  unto  her 
Druim  Ligheane,  because  of  its  noble- 
ness, 

For 


a  In  the  East :  i.  e.  in  Scotland  ;  and  here,  in 
Ireland. 

b  Fanad. — A  territory  in  the  north  of  Tircon- 
nell,  extending  from  Lough  Swilly  to  Mulroy 
Lough,  and  from  the  sea  to  Rathmelton.  It  com- 
prised the  parish  of  Cloondawadoge  ;  and  Rath- 
mullen  was  its  chief  residence. 

«  Eoghan  :  i.  e.  Tir  Connell  and  Tir  Eoghain 


(Tyrone). 

d  Free  of  all  claim. — ppic  pall,  a  Brehon 
law  term  nearly  equivalent  to  our  fee  simple. 

11  Druim  Lighean,  or  Cruachan  Lighean,  now 
Drumleene,  on  the  western  bank  of  Lough  Foyle, 
near  Lifford,  is  still  the  name  of  a  townland  in 
the  barony  of  Raphoe,  parish  of  Clonleigh,  or 
Clonlaodh,  county  Donegal.  A  monastery  was 


CV111 


ap  a  coimoeipi  ap  cip  call 
ibep  Gojan  if  Conall. 

t)o  pi  jne  a  ciomna  pe  n-6g 
6apc  aluinn,  n!  h-iomapbpe'j 
a  cpioc  DO  Caipneac  miao  n- 
bo  bea^rhac  a  bepb'pearap. 

Q  h-eic,  a  h-dp,  a  h-eaoac, 
a  rioolacab  cpoimc£abac, 
a  ppeapbal  pop  05  pleajaiB 
uaice  ap  riiacaib 


Q  h-eappa6  ^aca  bliaona 

map  bo  Biao  beo  peim  piu^la 
up  ceo  ba  jac  cpao  lappin 
DO  Chaipneac  6  piol  Sojain. 

Caspar  piol  Gojam  an  ciop 
ppi  pe  Caipnijj  jan  acpjip, 
ajup  DO  pabpuc,  miao  n-jal, 
'na  biaij  pe  piciob  bliaoan. 

mappun  ip  Cappun  lappin, 
oa  comapbu  b'eip 


cucpar 


For  its  convenient  situation  within  the 

land, 
Between  Tir  Eoghain  and  Tir  Conaill. 

She  made  her  will  before  her  death — 
Earc,  the  beautiful,  it  is  no  falsehood — 
She  bequeathed  her  territory  to  the  ve- 
nerated, powerful  Cairneach, 
The  goodly  son  of  her  sister. 

Her  horses,  her  gold,  her  apparel, 

Her  presents  of  many  heavy  hundreds, 
And  that  he  be   entertained  at  ban- 
quets, 
For  her,  by  the  sons  of  Muireadhach. 

Her  suit  of  apparel  every  year, 

As  if  she  were  alive,  by  strict  injunction, 
And  an  hundred  of  every  kind  of  cattle, 
To  Cairneach,  from  the  seed  of  Eoghan. 

The  seed  of  Eoghan  paid  the  tribute 
During  Cairneach's  life  without  mur- 
mur, 

And  they  paid  it, — noble  deed, — 
After  him  for  the  term  of  twenty  years. 

Massan  and  Cassanf  then 

Were  the  two  coarbs  after  Cairneach ; 

They 


founded  by  St.  Columba  at  Clonleigh  (Colgan, 
Trias  Thaum.  p.  435,  n.  53),  over  which  St. 
Carnech  perhaps  afterwards  presided.  Colgan, 
Acta  SS.  p.  782.  See  above,  p.  241,  n.  '  ;  and 
O'Donovan's  Four  Masters,  at  the  Year  1522 
(p.  1357);  1524  (p.  1371);  and  1538  ("p.  1813). 
f  Massan  and  Cassan — Colgan  says  :  "  Forte 
hie  Cassanus  fuit  unus  ex  quatuor  Sanctis  Cas- 
sanis,  de  quibns  egimus  supra  hac  die  [28  Martii] 


in  vita  S.  Cassani  Episcopi,  et  fortasse  quartus  qui 
20  Junii  eolitur.  Item  eum  qui  hie  Massanusap- 
pellatur,  existimo  esse,  qui  ab  aliis  Assanus  voca- 
tur;  et  eolitur  27  April,  secundum  Marianum  et 
alios.  Solent  enim  nostrates  praefigere  particulam 
Afo,  vel  solum  M  nominibus  Sanctorum  a  vocali 
incipientibus,  ut  antea  sa;pe  monui." — Acta  SS., 
p.  783,  n.  8. 


CIX 


cucpar  t)puim  li^ean  jan  cum 
ap  clop  Caipmj  DO  conjrhail. 

Gucpac  clanna  Neill  co  par 

jan  ciop  gun  peace  jan  c-pluaij- 

ea6, 

cm  cia  po  conjbaib  jan  c-pal 
ciop  Caipnij  a  t>ubpuoap. 


mac  IDuipceapcuij  ihoip 
cona  cloinn  uupailaporhoip 
jabpac  an  Dpuim  pa  clop  os 
pip  Opomu  lutj  oa  eipe. 


They  gave  away  Druim  Lighean  freely, 
Upon  condition  of  receiving  Cairneach's 
tribute. 

The  prosperous  Clann  Neill  gave, 
Free  of  expeditions  or  of  hostings8, 
Although    they    might   have    kept   it 

without  reproach, 
Cairneach's  tribute  as  they  asked. 

Fearghus,  the  son  of  great  Muircheartach, 
With  his  noble,  illustrious,  great  sons, 
Took  the  Druim''  subject   to  this  tri- 
bute, 
And  hence  they  were  called  Fir  Droma'. 


Although  the  foregoing  curious  poem  was  never  before  published,  yet  it  was  not 
unknown  to  the  indefatigable  Colgank ;  and  it  evidently  forms  the  authority  for  the 
following  historical  narrative,  which  he  has  given  in  his  Life  of  St.  Carnech:  "  Mortuo 
deinde  secundo  conjuge  Fergussio,  Erca  a  quatuor  filiis,  quos  eidem  genuerat,  in  SUEB 
viduitatis  solatium  et  sustentationem  donatur  suprarnemorato  procdio  nunc  Druim- 
liyean  nunc  Cruchan-ligean  appellari  solito:  quod  et  ipsa  sub  mortem  condito  testa- 
mento  S.  Carnecho  sobrino,  de  filiorum  consensuperpetuolegavit;  relietaque  Murcher- 
tacho  caterisque  filiis  ex  priori  thoro  susceptis  sua  regia  suppellectile,  eosdem,  ultro 
ad  hoc  se  offercntes,  obligavit  ad  centum  capita  ex  quolibet  arinentorum  genere  eidem 
S.  Carnecho  ejusve  successor!  quotannis  in  perpctuuui  numeranda.  Ilasc  autem 
pia  et  perampla  devotae  Principis  legata,  toto  tempore,  quo  S.  Carneohus  supervixit, 

et 


Droma  Lighean,  the  descendants  of  Eochaidh  oi1 
Druim  Lighean,  or  Feara  Droma  Lighean,  the 
men  of  Drum-Lighean.  See  the  genealogy  of  the 
O'Donnelljs,  who  were  the  chiefs  of  the  Fir 


6  Hostings The  successors  of  St.  Carnech, 

it  appears,    preferred  the    tribute  to    the  land, 
which    was    at    that    time    burdened    with    the 
charges  of  expeditions  and  hostings,  the  main- 
tenance of   troops,    and    also  the  obligation    of       Droma,   in  the  Appendix  to   O'Donovan's  Four 
serving  personally  in  the  wars,  from  which  the       Masters,  p.  2426. 

k  Colgan  speaks    of  the   author  of  this  poem 
only  under  the  general  terms  of  ''author  quidam 


ecclesiastical  character    of   the    owners  did  not 
protect  them. 

11  The  Druim  :  \.  e.  Druim  Lighean. 

'  Fir  Droma They  were  called   Ui    Ethach 


anonymus,  qui  videtur  ante  oetingentos  vel  am- 
plius  annos  vixisse." 


ex 

et  annis  insuper  viginti  ab  ejus  morte,  rata  et  firma  manserunt,  et  fideliter  solveban- 
tur.  Verum  postea  Cassanus  et  Massanus  qui  S.  Carnecho  in  rnonasterii  regimine  suc- 
cesserant,  negligentiam  aliquam  in  annua  ilia  armentorum  pensione  solvenda,  vel  jam 
commissam  videntes,  vel  ne  in  posterum  committeretur  metuentes,  consenserunt  ad 
dominium  praedicti  prajdii  in  filios  posterosve  Muredacii  ea  conditione  transferendum, 
quod  dudum  statuta  pensio,  quotannis,  ut  olim  consuevit,  integre  solveretur.  Hac 
ergo  transactione  peracta,  Fergussius  supra  memorato Murchertacho  natus,  ejusque  filii 
pradictum  prsedium  possidendum  susceperunt,  et  annis  pluribus  retinuerunt,  usque 
scilicet  ad  tempera  Domnaldi  filii  Aidi  Hibernia?  Monarches,  qui  ex  supra  memorati 
Conalli  semine  oriundus,  ab  anno  Domini  623  ad  639  regnavit." — Acta  SS.,  p.  782. 

From  the  foregoing  documents  it  would  seem  that,  at  the  time  when  Ere  became 
St.  Carnech's  penitent,  he  was  at  Ross-Ailigh.  That  after  the  liberal  endowments 
bequeathed  to  him  by  Ere,  he  established  a  monastery  at  Drium  Lighean,  or  perhaps 
enlarged  and  enriched  that  which  had  been  founded  by  St.  Columba  at  Cluain  Laodh, 
now  Clonleigh1. 

There  are  also  some  data  furnished  in  the  poem  for  determining  the  year  of  St.  Car- 
nech's death.  The  bard  tells  us  that  the  successors  of  St.  Carnech,  twenty  years  after 
his  death,  consented  to  give  up  the  manor  of  Druim- Lighean,  and  that  Fergus,  the  son 
of  Muircheartach,  was  the  sovereign  who  accepted  this  surrender,  and  resumed  posses- 
sion of  the  Druim,  from  which  his  posterity  were  termed  Fir-Droma. 

But  Fergus,  according  to  O'Flaherty's  Chronology,  reigned  conjointly  with  his 
brother  Domhnall  for  one  year  only,  viz.,  A.  D.  565-6.  The  Four  Masters  place  the 
commencement  of  the  reign  of  Domhnall  and  Fergus  in  559,  and  their  death  in  561. 
But  the  Annals  of  Ulster  favour  O'Flaherty's  date.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  Fer- 
gus entered  into  possession  of  Druim-Lighean  when  he  was  chief  of  Tyrone,  and  before 
he  became  king  of  Ireland.  Therefore  St.  Carnech  must  have  died  before  the  year  545, 
if  we  adopt  the  dates  of  O'Flaherty ;  or  before  the  year  539,  if  we  adopt,  with  Colgan, 
the  chronology  of  the  Four  Masters. 

There  is  another  St.  Carnech  mentioned  in  Irish  history,  who  is  said  to  have  been 
bishop  of  Tuilen,  now  Dulane,  near  Kells,  in  the  county  of  Meath ;  but  his  memory  is 
now  altogether  forgotten  there.  Colgan  is  of  opinion  that  this  is  not  the  same  as  the 
Carnech  who  is  the  subject  of  the  foregoing  remarks.  For  his  day  is  not  the  28th  of 

March, 

'  Colgan  says:  "  Unde  cum  duso  ecclesise,  una        septentrionem,  satis  vicinze  ;  in  alterutra  ipsum 
Domknac-mor,  de   Magh-Ith,    appellata  ;    altera        Abbatis,  et  per  consequens  Episcopi  munus  ex- 
Cluain  Laodh  dicta,    sint    illi  praedio   [soil,    de        ercuisse  existimo." — Acta  SS.,  p.  782,  c.  2. 
Druim-ligean],    una    ad    occidentem,  altera    ad 


CXI 


March,  but  the  1  6th  of  May,  under  which  date  his  death   is  thus  recorded  in   the 
Feilire  of  Aenghus  : 

&as  cam 


"  The  illustrious  death  of  Carnech  the  truly  powerful." 
And  the  gloss  adds  : 

.1.   Caipnech    o   Cuilen    i  pail  Che-          i.  e.  Carnech  of  Tuilen,  in  the  neigh- 
nannpa,  -|  DO  6peacnaib  Copn  oo.  bourhood  of  Cenannas  [Kells],  and  he  is  of 

the  Britons  of  Corn  [Cornwall]. 

By  this  it  appears  that  St.  Carnech  of  Tuilen  was  not  a  native  of  Ireland,  but  of 
Cornwall,  and  therefore  Colgau  supposes  him  to  be  the  same  as  St.  Cernach  or  Caran- 
tach,  whose  day  in  the  Calendar  of  the  British  Church  is  the  i6th  of  May,  and  who 
flourished  about  a  century  before  the  other  St.  Carnech,  having  been,  as  it  is  said,  a 
contemporary  of  St.  Patrick  —  Trias.  Thaum.,  p.  231.  (Acta  SS.,  p.  783,  c.  8).  It  is  pro- 
bable that  his  memory  was  introduced  into  Ireland,  and  a  church  dedicated  to  him  at 
Tuilen,  by  the  three  tuatha  or  septs  of  the  British,  i.  e.  Welshmen,  who  settled  there, 
according  to  the  topographical  poem  of  O'Dugan,  and  who  were  called  Comcionol 
Chaipni£,  or  Cairnech's  Congregation. 

It  is  of  this  Carnech,  or  Carantoch  of  Tuilen,  that  Dudley  Mac  Firbis  probably 
speaks  when  he  says  (p.  749,  MS.  Royal  Irish  Academy)  : 

Caipnecc,  DO  6pernuib  Copn  bo,  ap  Cairnech,    he    was    of  the  Britons    of 

lame  pin  a  ofpap  Caipnec  pip  .1.  Caip-  Corn,   and  hence   he  is   called  Cairnech 

nee  mac  6uicfic,   mic  f.injjib,  mic  Cha-  [Cornish];  viz.,  Cairnech,  son  of  Luitech, 

luitn,    mic    locacaip,    mic    CIlcu.     Qp  son   of  Luighidh,  son    of  Talum,   son  of 

atiiluio    pin    nupiop  ^lolla  Caoriiain    i  Jothacar,  son  of  Alt.    This  is  what  Giolla 

Soaipib  na  m-6pfcon.  Caomhain  relates  in  the  Histories  of  the 

Britons. 

The  History  of  the  Britons  by  Giolla  Caomhain,  who  died  about  A.  D.  1072, 
is  a  work  which  is  not  now  known  to  exist,  unless  it  be  the  same  as  the  Leabhar 
Breathnach,  or  Irish  version  of  Nennius,  here  published:  for  O'Reilly  states  (Trans. 
Iberno-Ga^lic  Society,  p.  cxxii.),  that  in  the  Book  of  Hy-Many  there  was  a  copy  of 
the  Leabhar  Breathnach,  at  the  head  of  which  was  a  memorandum  stating  that  Nen- 
uius  was  the  author,  but  that  Giolla  Caomhain  had  translated  it  into  Irish.  The 
genealogy  of  St.  Cairnech,  however,  as  quoted  by  Dudley  Mac  Firbis,  does  not  now 
occur  in  any  of  the  copies  of  this  work  which  exist  in  Dublin  —  (T.) 

No.  XXII  J. 


CX11 


No.  XXIII.    Giraldus  Cambrensis  on  the  Picts  and  Scots. 

In  the  course  of  the  year  1 846,  the  Second  and  Third  Distinctions  of  the  work 
of  Giraldus  Cambrensis,  de  Instructione  Principis,  have  been  printed,  with  only  ex- 
cerpta  from  the  First  Distinction.  The  editors  excuse  this  mode  of  publication,  by 
alleging  that  the  first  portion  is  chiefly  ethical ;  but  the  words  of  the  following  cu- 
rious extract  shew  that  some  historical  notices  have  been  omitted. 

Excerptum  vi.  p.  188. 

"  But  since  thePictiand  Scoti  have  here  been  mentioned,  I  have  thought  it  rele- 
vant to  explain  who  these  nations  were,  and  whence,  and  why,  they  were  brought  into 
Britannia,  as  I  have  gathered  it  from  divers  histories. 

"  Histories  relate  that  the  Picti,  whom  Virgil  also  calls  Agatirsi™,  had  their  dwell- 
lings  near  the  Scitic  marshes.  And  Servius,  commenting  upon  Virgil,  and  expounding 
that  place"  '  Picti  Agatirsi,'  says :  '  We  call  the  same  people  Picti  whom  we  call  Aga- 
tirsi,  and  they  are  called  Picti  as  being  stigmatized,  since  they  are  wont  to  be  stigma- 
tized and  cauterized  for  the  abundance  of  phlegm.  And  these  people  are  the  same  as 
the  Gothi.  Since,  then,  the  continual  punctures  superinduce  scars,  their  bodies  become, 
as  it  were,  painted,  and  they  are  called  Picti  from  these  cauteries  overgrown"  with 
scars.' 

"  So,  when  that  tyrant  Maximus  went  over  from  Britannia  to  Francia,  with  all  the 
men  and  forces  and  arms  of  the  island,  to  assume  the  empire,  Gratian  and  Valentinian, 
brothers  and  partners  in  the  empire,  transported11  this  Gothic  nation,  brave  and  strong 
in  war,  either  allied  or  subject  to  themselves,  and  [won]'1  by  imperial  benefits,  from 
the  boundaries  of  Scitia  to  the  northern  parts  of  Britannia,  to  infest  the  Britons,  and 

call 


m  Contrariwise,  he  gives  to  the  Agathyrsi  the 
epithet  of  Picti. 

"  Neither  there  nor  elsewhere  hath  the  extant 
Servius  (Edit.  Masvicii)  one  syllable  of  this  ;  nor 
has  he  anywhere  any  mention  of  the  Gothi. 

0  This  disfiguring  of  the  features  by  cicatriza- 
tion was  an  entirely  distinct  practice,  and  limited 
to  the  face.  The  Hunnish  tribes  were  those  who 
delighted  in  such  deformity.  Ammianus  says 
they  cicatrized  their  new-born  infants — xxxi. 
cap.  2.  Others  relate  that  they  inflicted  these 
scars  on  occasion  of  grief  and  mourning.  But 


the  statements  are  not  incompatible.  The  poet 
Sidonius  only  means  bloody  when  inflicted  by 
red, — 


-  "  vultuque  minaci 
Kuhra  cicatricum  vestigia  dcfodissc."—  AdAmtum,  239. 

p  Manifestly  false ;  for  Eumenius  of  Autun, 
in  the  year  297,  spoke  of  the  Picti  in  Britannia. 
Paneg.  Constantio.  cap.  xi. 

1  Imperialibus tarn  beneficiis;  tarn 

being  the  last  syllable  of  some  passive  parti- 
ciple. 


cxin 

call  home  the  tyrant  with  all  the  youth  of  the  island,  which  he  had  taken  away  never 
destined  to  return. 

"  But  they,  being  strong  in  the  warlike  valour  natural  to  Goths,  nevertheless  finding 
the  island  stript  (as  I  have  said)  of  men  and  forces,  occupied  no  small  part  of  its  north- 
ern provinces,  never  meaning  to  revisit  their  own  country,  and  of  pirates  becoming 
settlers. 

"  In  process  of  time  (having  married  wives  from  the  neighbouring  Hybernia  since 
they  could  have  none  from  the  Britons)  they  took  into  alliance  the  Hybernic  nation, 
also  called  Scotian  ;  and  gave  them  the  maritime  part  of  the  land  they  had  occupied, 
and  the  nearest  to  their  own  country,  where  the  sea  is  narrow,  which  is  called'  Gal- 
weidia,  where  they  afterwards  became  unanimous  in  infesting  the  Britons,  and 
advancing  their  own  frontiers.  And  it  is  of  them  that  Gildas,  in  his  treatise  de  Ex- 
cidio  Britonum,  says :  '  Then  Britannia,  destitute  of  armed  soldiers,  and  deprived  of 
the  vigorous  young  men  of  the  country,  who,  having  followed  the  above-mentioned 
tyrant,  never  returned  home,  being  now  entirely  ignorant  of  the  use  of  war,  began 
first  to  be  oppressed  and  trampled  by  two  very  fierce  nations,  the  Picti  from  the 
north,  and  the  Scoti  from  the  north-west.'  &c.,  &cs.  And  now  I  will  briefly  relate 
how  the  mighty  nation  of  Picti,  after  so  many  victories,  has  come  to  nothing. 

"  When  the  Saxons  had  occupied  the  island,  as  I  have  said,  and  concluded  a  stable 
peace  with  the  Picti,  the  Scoti  (who  had  been  joined  to  the  Picti,  and  invited  by  them 
to  inhabit  their  country)  seeing  that  the  Picti  (although  now  fewerc,  because  of  the 
affinity  of  Hibernia)  were  yet  much  their  superiors  in  arms  and  courage,  had  recourse 
to  their  wonted  and,  as  it  were,  innate  treacheries"  [predictions],  in  which  they  sur- 
pass other  nations.  They  invited*  all  the  magnates  of  the  Picti  to  a  banquet,  and 
when  an  excess  and  profusion  of  meat  and  drink  had  been  taken,  and  they  perceived 
their  opportunity,  they  removed  the  pegs  which  supported  the  planks,  whereby  they 

all 

'  Galloway.      Here  Giraldus  evinces  his  com-  twice,  and  is  not  intelligible  to  me,  I  suppose  we 

plete  ignorance  of  the  history  and  geography  of  ought  to  read  proditiones. 

the  Scots  colony.  •  This  tale,  howsoever  fabulous,  and  borrowed 

1  The  Editor  has  omitted  much  of  the  quota-  from  the  story  of  Hengist,  puts  on  its  true  foot- 

tions  from  Gildas.  ing  the  pretended  total  extirpation  of  the  Picts 

1  If  the  text  is    sound,  it  probably  means  that  by  Kenneth  M'Alpin.      It  was  an   extirpation  of 

the  Pictish  superiority  of  numbers  was  diminished  the  rig/is,  or  royal  Picts,  in  whom  the  crown  was 

by  the   succours  which  the  Scots   obtained  from  heritable,  of  the  whole  tanistry  (if  I  may  so  term 

their  mother  country.  it)  of  the  realm. 

u  For  this  word,  prcedictiones,    which  occurs 

IRISH  ARCH.  SOC.   1 6.  P 


CX1V 

all  fell,  by  a  wonderful  stratagem,  up  to  their  hams  into  the  hollow  of  the  benches 
whereon  they  were  sitting,  so  that  they  could  by  no  means  rise ;  and  then  straight- 
way they  slaughtered  them  all,  taken  by  surprise,  and  fearing  no  such  treatment  from 
their  kinsfolk  and  confederates,  whom  they  had  joined  in  fealty  to  their  own  enfeoff- 
mentw,  and  who  were  their  allies  in  war.  In  this  manner  the  more  warlike  and  pow- 
erful of  the  two  nations  entirely  disappeared;  but  the  other,  in  all  respects  far  inferior, 
having  gained  the  advantage  in  the  moment  of  so  great  a  treachery  [prediction], 
obtained  even  unto  this  day  the  whole  of  that  country,  from  sea  to  sea,  which  after 
their  own  name  they  called  Scotia." — (H-) 

No.  XXIV.     Addenda  et  Corrigenda. 

Page  26,  note  m,  "  The  Welsh  also  call  themselves  Gwydhil,  and  their  country  Tir 
Gwydhil."  This  is  a  mistake.  A  part  of  Anglesea  (or  the  whole)  was  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  Irish  in  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries ;  and  certain  monuments  there  are  called 
Carrirj  y  Wyddyl,  "  Stones  of  the  Gael ;"  some  rude  old  houses  are  called  tre'r  Wydde- 
lodd,  "  Houses  of  the  Gael ;"  and  a  prince  of  Mona  living  in  those  times  was  styled 
the  Brenin  o  Wyddelodd.  If  there  ever  was  a  Tir  y  Gwyddyl,  out  of  Albany,  it  was 
probably  that  colony  in  Mona.  But  that  places  the  name  in  opposition  to  Cymmry, 
and  not  in  synonyme  with  it.  The  statement  that  the  Welsh  call  themselves  Gwyddyl, 
or  their  country  Tir  y  Gwyddyl,  is  altogether  a  mistake. 

P.  30,  note  f ,  line  1 8.  It  is,  however,  possible  that  the  discreditable  sense  of  the 
word  havren  may  be  a  secondary  and  modern  one,  its  older  meaning  having  been 
void  of  reproach.  During  the  long  time  since  I  penned  this  note,  I  have  concluded 
this  much,  that  Geoffrey's  original  was  neither  brought  from,  nor  written  in,  Armo- 
rica. — (//)• 

P.  103,  note  s,  col.  i,  line  8,  for  "  is  usually  attributed  to  the  year  473,"  read,  "is 
variously  dated  from  456  to  473." 

P.  in,  line  6,  "  his  shoulder."  That  ysgtcyd,  a  shield,  was  mistaken  for  ysgwydd, 
a  shoulder,  is  the  convincing  remark  of  Mr.  Price  in  his  Hanes  Cymru. — See  the 
notes  to  Schulz  on  Welsh  tradition,  p.  10.  This  easy  mistake  was  probably  fur- 
ther facilitated  by  the  use  of  both  words.  Geoffrey  says :  "  adaptat  humeris  quoque  suis 
dypeum."  Two  of  his  Welsh  translators  have  tarian  ar  ysgwydd;  but  we  find  poets 
affecting  the  gingle  of  ysgwyd  ar  ysgwydd. — (H). 

P.  130,  line  (of  the  poem)  18,  am  pane  epcail-icbi.  This  is  very  obscure  and 
corrupt;  am  pano  is  not  properly  "  in  the  portion,"  although  it  has  been  so  conjec- 

turally 
"'  Suo  beneficio  confeodatis. 


cxv 

jecturally  rendered:  to  be  so  it  ought  to  be  ippoinb,  or  ippano.  Mr.  Curry  proposes 
to  read  am  panb  epcalicbi,  for  am  pon  epcaileao  ambir,  "  when  first  their  existence 
was  discovered."  Gpcaileao  is  an  old  word  which  is  thus  explained  in  a  Glossary  in 
the  Library  of  Trinity  College:  .1.  eipneab,  uc  epc,  in  bi  bpecearh  na  bi  epcailcec 
-|C.  ap  ip  cpe  epcaileao  paillpijceap  ainceap  ni  beaca&  .1.  apip  cpia  pin  epnecm 
puppamai^ceup,  no  paillpigcep  ainceap  in  beaca.  "  Ercaihadh,  i.  e.  eirneadh  (solu- 
tion), as  in  the  saying,  '  There  will  be  no  judge  who  will  not  be  able  to  solve  (ercail- 
tech),  &c. ;'  and,  '  For  it  is  by  solution  (ercaileadh)  that  all  the  difficult  questions  of 
life  are  made  clear,'  i.  e.  through  erneadh  (solution),  all  the  questions  of  life  are  made 
clear  or  explained." — (T). 

Ibid.,  line  22  (of  the  poem),  caicne.  This  word  is  translated  understood,  on  the 
authority  of  the  following  passage  from  the  Leabhar  Breac,  fol.  27,  b.  a. 

din    u    eop    ebpica    linja    locucoy  Alii  vero  eos  [sc.  Apostolos]  Hebraica 

puippe  apbicpancup.     Seo    ira  ab  orn-  lingua  locutos    fuisse  arbitrantur.     Sed 

nibupee  mcellecca  ea  cj  oca  punc  q  pin-  ita  ab  omnibus  esse intellecta  ea  qua;  dicta 

julip  ppoppia  pua  loquepecup.  paipenb  sunt,  quia  singulis  propria  sua  loqueretur 

aile   u.    ippeo  abbpeuc  conio  on   beplu  (sic).  Others  think  that  they  spake  in  the 

Gbpaioe  nama    po    lubaippec   -\    comb  Hebrew  language,    and  that  it  sounded 

uippioe  bo  caicne  aeb  u  m-bepla  oilip  with  the  sweetaccent  of  his  own  language 

bo  each.  to  each. 

The  allusion,  as  the  reader  will  evidently  perceive,  is  to  Acts,  ii.  4-11. 

Ibid.,  line  26  (of  the  poem),  pptlacap  jun  liun.  In  the  same  glossary  already 
quoted  lacap  is  explained  by  inbill,  ready  prepared:  and  luin  by  lean  no  puill,  defect 
or  neglect. — See  line  54. 

P.  284,  note  '.  The  word  bpeacaib  may  be  the  third  person  plural  of  the  verb 
bpecaim,  to  variegate,  adorn,  illustrate,  colour  with  spots:  and  the  meaning  is,  that 
Malcolm  was  king  thirty  years,  a  period  that  has  been  celebrated  or  illustrated, 
blazoned  in  poems  or  verses. — (71) 

P.  liv,  Additional  Notes,  line  26,  "  Or  silver-hip.'"  Observe  the  strictly  analogous 
names  of  the  Danannian  king,  Nuadh  Silver-hand.  Compare  also  the  Druidess  Geal- 
cosach,  or  white-legs,  whose  tomb  is  shewn  in  Inishowen — (H.) 

P.  xlviii,  lines  5,  6,  "  We  read  in  Lib.  Ballymote,  that  Bruide  Cnit.  .  .  .  ivas  Kiny 
of  Ulster. — Ap.  Pinkerton,  i.  502-504."  The  passage  certainly  does  so  stand  in  the 
Book  of  Ballymote,  Cmc  pi  ulab;  "  Cnit  [or  Cint],  King  ofUladh." — See  p.  xcii.  And 
it  is  also  stated  in  the  Book  of  Lecan  (see  p.  Ixvii.  supra),  that  U rchal  Bruicli-pont  was 

p  2  thirty 


CXV1 

thirty  years  King  of  Uladh.  But  these  passages,  particularly  the  former,  are  so  cor- 
rupt, that  no  safe  inference  can  be  drawn  from  them. 

There  is  in  the  Book  of  Lecan  another  copy  of  the  Cruithnian  story,  besides  those 
given  above,  p.  Ixv.  et  seq.,  and  p.  xciii.  et  seq. ;  but  it  is  so  nearly  the  same  as  the 
others,  that  it  has  not  been  thought  worth  while  to  transcribe  it,  especially  as  it  is 
very  corrupt,  and  adds  nothing  to  the  information  given  us  in  the  copies  which  have 
been  printed.  It  occurs  in  the  history  of  the  reign  of  Herimon,  in  a  long  account 
of  the  Milesian  invasion  of  Ireland". 

The  allusion  to  the  King  of  Uladh,  or  Ulidia,  in  this  tract,  is  as  follows: 

Upculbpuire  pone  .ppp.  b.  ippi^e  nut.  Urcalbruide  Pont  thirty  years  in  the 
Ipoe  upbeapra  bpuije  ppi  jac  peap  oib  kingdom  of  Uladh.  It  is  from  him  the 
1  penoa  na  peap.  name  of  Bruide  is  given  to  every  man  of 

them  and  to  the  divisions  of  their  lands. 

In  this  list  of  the  kings  the  same  confused  mixture  of  the  Bruides  with  the  other 
names  occurs  which  lias  been  already  noticed  in  the  Book  of  Ballymote,  and  originated, 
probably,  in  the  same  cause. — See  p.  xcii.,  supra. 

Hence,  although  the  name  is  written  above  Urcalbruide  Pont,  yet  it  is  clear  that 
two  names,  Urcal  and  Bruide  Pont,  are  run  together;  and  that  the  observation  applies 
properly  to  Pont,  or  Bout  (see  above,  p.  156),  who  is  called  Bout  by  Pinkerton. 

It  will  be  seen  also,  that  in  the  reading  of  this  passage,  as  given  above,  p.  156,  and 
also  in  that  given  from  another  part  of  the  Book  of  Lecan  (p.  xci.,  supra),  there  is  no 
mention  of  Uladh.  There  we  find,  instead  of  ippije  nut.  or  nuluo,  as  in  the  former 
place,  £££.  cino  uao,  and  in  the  latter,  p?p."  pig  uao,  intimating  that  after  Bruide  Pont 
there  were  thirty  kings,  who  bore  the  common  title  of  Bruide. 

Which  of  these  was  the  true  reading  it  is  now  impossible  to  say;  but  it  is  evident 
that  we  must  be  very  cautious  in  drawing  any  inference  from  the  mention  of  Uladh 
in  so  very  corrupt  a  passage. — (T.) 

P.  cviii,  note  f,  Maxsan  and  Gossan,  These  saints  are  mentioned  in  the  poem  on 
the  Saints  of  the  Cinel  Laeghaire,  in  a  poem  beginning  Naem  rencup  naem  mnpi 
F«'l  (Book  of  Ballymote,  fol.  126,  b.l.). 

6eoan,  dppan,  Cupan  cpiup,  Beoan,  Assan,  Cassan  three, 

cicup  Richell  a  noepbpup,  and  Richell  their  sister, 

Qpcpaij  mic  Qebci  am,  Artraigh,  son  of  noble  Aedh, 

mic  pemjjf-ibip  mic  OdUdin.  son  of  chaste  Liber,  son  of  Dalian. — (T.) 

INDEX. 
1  Book  of  Lecan,  fol.  13,  b.  6. 


CXV11 


INDEX 


A. 


Page. 


\  BONIA,  the  isle  of  Man,  ...    29,  n. 
Acha,  or  St.  John's  well,  near  Kil- 
kenny,      197,  n. 

Adamnan's  Life  of  St.  Columba, .     .  147,  ». 

deb,  art  or  science, 151,  n. 

Aenbeagan,  king  of  the  Picts,  .     ...     51 
Aengus  the  Culdee,  his  Libellus  de  Ma- 
tribus  Sanctorum,  .     .     .     180,  n.,  198,  n. 

his  Felire,       .     .     .     201,  n.,206,  n. 

Agathyrsi,   the   original     name   of  the 

Picts 121,  131 

Aiche,  land  of, 267 

Aileach, cii.  n. 

QiTieace 62,  n. 

Airthera.     See"  Orior." 
Alba,  the  ancient  name  of  North  Bri- 
tain  127,  n. 

Albion,  first  name  of  Britain,  ....     27 

,  not  of  Latin  origin,      ...    27,  n. 

Alectus, 05 

Ambrose  [Merlin],  fortress  of,     ...     91 

,  king  of  France, 75 

,  bishop  of  Milan, 69 

Amergin,  of  the  white  kine,  Brehon  of 
the  Milesians, 57 


Page. 

Amergin,  his  judgment  between  the  Mi- 
lesians and  Tuatha  de  Danaan, .     .  247,  n. 
Anglesey,  or  Mona,  conquered  by  the 

Irish, 190,7*. 

Angus,  notion  of  Macbeth  being  thane 

of,  its  origin, xc 

Antioch,  legend  of  the  foundation  of,  by 

Seleucus  Nicator, xxiv 

Apurnighe,  or  Abernethy 163 

Arad  Cliathach 257 

Tire, ib. 

Aran,  isle  of,  confounded  by    Giraldus 
Cambrensis  with  Inishglory,     .     .    193,  n. 
— ,  dedicated  to  St.  Endeus,     .     .     .     ib. 

Arbraighe,    . 262,  n.,  203 

Archbishoprics,    three   in    ancient  Bri- 
tain,     v 

Ard-leamhnachta,  battle  of,  124,  n.,  125,  135 

Argiall,  kings  of, 255 

Argingi,  district  of,  .     .     •     •      118,  n.,  119 

,  sepulchre  in, ib. 

Arius  Froda, 147,  n. 

Armorica, xlx 

Arngrim  Jonas,  Island.  Primordia,  .  148,  n. 
Arnor  Jarlaskald,  .  .  .  Ixxxii,  Ixxxiii 
dpc,  strenuus,  valiant 276,  n. 


CXV111 


Page. 

Arthur,  King  of  Britain,  his  twelve  bat- 
tles with  the  Saxons,   ....      109-113 

,  his  dog,  .     .     .117 

Assan ,  or  Massan,  (St.)      .     .     .  cviii,  cxvi 


B. 

Bablu  and  Biblu  of  Clonard 213 

Babona 179 

Ballymote,  Book  of ;  section  on  the  ori- 
gin of  the  Picts ;  conjecture  to  explain 

the  errors  of,         xci 

Banba,   conquered  by  the  Milesians  at 

Sleibh  Mis 247 

Bartollocci,  Bibliotheca  Rabinnica,  .  228,  n. 

Bassaleg, xxv 

Beantraighe, 257 

Bede, 146,  n.,  1C8,  n.,  srj. 

Belfry  of  fire, 215 

Beli  ap  Bennli  Gwar,  grave  of,     .     .       xxiii 
Bellinus,   or    Beli   Maur   ap   Manogan, 
King  of  Britain  at  the  time   of  Julius 

Caesar's  invasion, 59,  xxiii 

benait),  to  draw  out,  or  prolong,  .  .  30,  n. 
Benli,  or  Beunli  Gawr,  i.  e.  the  giant, 

xxiii 

Bernard  (St.),  Vita  S.  Malachise,  .       179,  n. 
Berre,  now  Bearhaven,  county  Cork,      .  203 
Bertram  (C.),  his  editions  of  Nennius,  .       2 
Beulan,  or  Beular,  the  instructor  of  Nen- 
nius,      9 

blu,  in  the  Brehon  laws,  put  for  bcnlc, 

a  townland, 279,  n. 

Bladhma,  now  Slieve  Bloom,  .  .  196,197 
Bloom,  Slieve,  the  well  of,  ....  ib. 
Bocuilt,  or  Buellt,  earn  of,  .  .  .  .117 

botien, 60,  n. 

Bodhe,  or  Boidhe, Ixxx 

Boetius  (Hector) 186,  n. 

Bran  ap  Llyr vii 


Page. 
Bran  ap  Llyr,  his  head  buried  under 

the  Tower  of  London, xvii 

Brand's  Orkneys, 149,  n. 

bncip ,  active, 273,  n. 

Brath,  son  of  Deagath, 237 

Breagh-magh,  or  Bregia,  the  Pictish  Set- 

tlementin 125,145 

Brebic,  cataract  of, 119 

Brendan  (St.),  of  Inisglory,  .  .  .  193,  n. 

Brentracht, 240,  n.,  241 

Breogan,  sons  of, 243 

Brigantia, 239 

_,  tower  of,  ....  240,  n.,  241 

Bregond,  or  Breogan,  .  .  .  238,  n.,  239 

Britain,  why  so  called 27,  n. 

,  first  called  Albion,  .  .  .  .  ib. 

. ,  its  principal  cities,  .  .  .  27-29 

,  its  rivers, 31,  n. 

,  its  first  inhabitants  according 

to  British  traditions 31-33 

,  according  to  the  traditions  of 


the  Romans, 33-37 

-,  dates  of  the  invasion  by  the  Bri- 
tons, Cruithnians,  and  Saxons,       .     .     59 

,  wonders  of  the 113 

,  history  of,  abridged  from  Bede, 

169-175 

Britus,  genealogy  of, 35 

Bruide,  the  common  prenomen  of  the 

Pictish  kings, 157-159,xlv 

— ,  its  meaning, ib. 

,  ceased  to  be  the  regal  appella- 
tion on  the  approach  of  civility,      .     .  xlvi 

Buais,  or  Bush  River, 266 

Buan,  son  of  Fergus  Mac  Roigh,      .  264,  n. 

Buichne 255 

Bucuc,    or   Abacuk,  the  headless  man 

of  Clonmacnois 207 

Bullorum  Viri,  the  Firbolg,     ....     45 
Bullum,  a  shepherd's  staff,       ...     44,  n. 


CX1X 


c. 


Page. 


Cadroe  f  St.),  life  of, 225,  n. 

Cailli  Fochladh,  the  children  of,  .     .     .  203 
Cairnech  (St.),    son  of  Sarran  and  Ba- 

bona,  miracles  of, 178 

,  documents  relating  to,  .      ci 

St.  Cairnech,  of  Tuilen,  not  a  native  of 

Ireland, cxi 

,  his  genealogy,  .     ib. 

Caiteal, 83 

Caledonians, xxxi,  xxxii 

,    Ptolemy's    testimony    re- 
specting (see  Vec.turiones),    ....    Ixii 

Calcuth,  synod  of, lix 

,  its  canon  against  scar- 
ring the  body, ib. 

Calry  of  Loch  Gill,  near  Sligo,    .     .  262,  n. 
Campbell.     See  Mac  Caithlin. 

Cantguic,  city  of, xviii 

Cantigern,  mother  of  Ua  Dangal,     .     .213 

,  three  women   of  the  name 

mentioned  in  Irish  history,  .     .     .  212,  n. 
Carantoch  (St.),  probably  the  same  as 

St.  Cairnech  of  Tuilen, cxi 

Carausius  invades  Britain,       ....     (55 

Cassan,  St cviii,  cxvi 

Cat,  or  Caithness,     ....      148,  n.,  149 

Cathbran, 125,  139,  141,  159 

Cathmachan, 141 

Catigern,  or  Kentigern, 99 

Catmolodor, 141 

Cearmna,  king  of  the  southern  half  of 

Ireland 263,  n. 

Cenel  Moain, cv 

Ceretic  of  Elmet, 86 

Chalmers's  Caledonia, 150,  «. 

Chronicon  Pictorum,  Irish  version  of,  159, 

Ixxv 

Chiula,  or  cyula,  a  boat,      ....     76,  n. 
Ciar,  son  of  Fergus  Mac  Roigh,   .     .     .  263 


Page, 

Cianan  of  Daimhliag,    tradition  of  his 

body  remaining  uncorrupted,  .  .221,71. 
Ciarriaghe,  tribes  of,  .....  264,  n. 
Cille  Cess,  now  Kilkeas,  mill  of,  .  .  217 


Cinaeth  Mac  Alpin,  .......   151 

Cirine,  i.  e.  St.  Jerome,      .....     69 

Cities   of  Britain,    comparison  of  their 

names  in  the  Irish  and  Latin  Nennius,     iii 
Cladh  na  muice,   ......    64,  n.,  65 

Claudius  invades  Britain,     .....     63 

Clonard,  aged  couple  of,     .....  213 

Clonmacnois,  three  wonders  of,     ...  207 
Cluain-fearta  Molua,  now  Clonfertmul- 

loe,     ........     200,  n.,  201 

Coarb,  meaning  of  the  word,   .     .     .   185,  n. 
Coemain  Brec  (St.),  Abbot  of  Roseach, 

201,  n. 

Colgan,  Trias  Thaumaturga,  161,  n.,  184,  n., 

202,  203,  n.,  276,  n.,  286,  n. 

-  Acta   Sanctorum,    161,    n.,   179,  n., 


184,  n.,  189,  n.,  190,  «.,  208,  n.,  218,  n., 

225,  n. 
Colman  (St.),  his  church  at  Seanboth, 

or  Teinpleshambo, 217,  «• 

Columbcille,  his  verses  on  the  seven  sons 

of  Cruithne, 51 

,  Poem  attributed  to,  .  .  144,  n. 


Comestor  (Peter),  Historia  Scholastica, 

228,  n. 
Comgall,  (St.),  appoints  St.   Molua  his 

confessor, 206,  207,  n. 

Con  (Loch),  its  wonderful  well,    .     .     .   195 
Conaing's  tower,    said   to  be  on  Tory 

Island 48,  n. 

Conaire  II.,  King  of  Ireland,  surnamed 

Caomh,  or  the  beautiful,      ....  275 

Conall  Glas, 266,  n.,  267 

Condivicium,  or  Condivicnum,  city  of,  xviii 
Confinn 265 


cxx 


Page. 

Congalach,  son  of  Mailmithigh,  his  ad- 
venture with  the  aerial  ship,      .     .     .211 
Conmac,  son  of  Fergus  Mac  Roigh,     .  263 

Conrnaicne,  tiibes  of, 264,  n. 

Constantine,  son  of  Muirchertach  Mac 

Erca 186,  n.,  187 

Constantinople,     second      (Ecumenical 

Council  of, 68,  n.,  69 

Constantius  invades  Britain,     and  dies 

there 65 

Coradh,       .     .     .     • 257 

Corann,  well  in  the  plain  of,     .     .     .     .197 
Core,  son  of  Fergus  Mac  Roigh,  .     .  263,  n. 

Cores.  Dalian, 264,  n.,  265 

Corc-Oiche 267,  n.,  269 

Corco-Modhruadh,  or  Corcomroe,  264,  n.,  265 

Corco  Raeda 255 

Corco  Riune, ib. 

Cor  Emmrys, xxv,  xxvi 

Cormac's  Glossary 253,  n. 

Coronis 234,  n.,  235 

Corpraighe, 258,  ».,  259 

Corpre  Arad, 257 

Craebh  Laisre, 208,  7i.,  209 

Cremhthann  Sgiath  bhel,  King  of  Lein- 

ster 123,  137 

Criodan,  Bishop, ciii,  ib.  n. 

Crossans 182,  n.,  183 

Cruc  Ochident, xvii 

Cput),  or  cpo6,  cattle 81,  n. 

Cruithne,  son  of  Inge,   or  Cing,  seized 

North  Britain 51 

,  his  seven  sons, ib. 

,  identical  with  the  first  Bruide,  xlvii 

,  takes  women  from  the  Mile- 


sians,   245 

Cruithnechan,  son  of  Lochit,  invades 

North  Britain 127 

,  obtains  women  from  the 

Irish, ib. 


Page. 
Cruithnians,  or  Picts,  their  conquest  of 

Britain, 41-43 

,  Lluyd's   derivation   of  the 

name, v 

,  Duald  Mac  Firbis's  expla- 
nation of  it ib. 

— ,  kings  of,      ....     155-167 
,  their  arrival  in  Ireland  in 


the  days  of  Herimon,  a  pure  mythology,  xlvii 

,  kings  of  Ireland,  .      Ixxii,  Ixxiii 

,  their  principal  men,  .     .     .  1 25 

,  their  origin,     .     .     .      12 \,sq. 

-,  section  of  the  origin  of  the, 


various  copies  of  in  the  Books  of  Bal- 

lymote  and  Lecan, xci 

-,  antient  poem   on  the    his- 


tory of, 126-153 

,  date  of  their  transit  from 

Ireland  to  Scotland, xlvii 

,  Mr.  Skene's  distinction  be- 


tween the  Cruithne  and  Piccardach 
not  well  founded, Ixii 

Cualpne 254,  n. 

Cuanach,  a  chronicler  cited  in  the  An- 
nals of  Ulster, 37,  n. 

Cuaniia  Mac  Cailchinne,  chief  of  Fer- 
moy, 265,  n. 

D. 

Dacherii  Spicilegium, 145,  n. 

Daiinliliag,  now  Duleek,  St/Cianan  of,  221,  n. 

Dal  Cais, 259 

Dal  Ceata 261 

Dal  Cein 259 

— ,  families  belonging  to  the  race 

of, ib.  n. 

Dal  Confinn 264,  n. 

Dal  Core, 260,  n.,  261 

Dal  Finn  Fiatach, 257 


CXX1 


Page. 
Dalian,  son  of  Fergus  Mac  Roigh,  .  264,  n. 

Dal  Mogha, 260,  n.,  261 

Dal  m-Buain, 264,  n.,  265 

Dal  n-Araidhe,  or  Dalaradians,  .  .  .  265 
Dalriadians  seize  the  Pictish  districts  in 

Ireland, 59 

Dal  Selle, 268,  n.,  269 

Danann,  daughter  of  Dalbaoith,  .  .  45,  n. 
Darlugdach,  Abbess  of  Kildare,  .  .  .163 

Dartraighe, 258,  n.,  259 

Dathi,  King  of  Ireland,  story  of  his 

having  been  killed  in  Latium,  .  .  .  xix 

OKOTIOC 182,  n. 

Deer,  miracles  respecting,  common  in 

Irish  hagiography, 183,  n. 

Deirgbeint,  or  Derwent,  battle  of  the,  .  101 
Delbhna,  or  Delvin,  tribes  of,  260,  n.,  261 

Derga, 2C3 

Dicuil,  De  Mensura  Orbis,  .  .  .  147,  n. 

Dicaledones, xxxi,  xxxii 

Dinas  Emmrys,  red  and  white  dragon 

of, xxvi 

Dinn,  a  high  fort 92,  n. 

Dirna  of  the  Daghda, 220,  n. 

Doomsday  Book, 186,  n. 

Domhnall  Breac, xliv 

Donogh,  Mac  Donall  Mic  Morrough, 

King  of  Ireland, 205,  ib.  n. 

Donn,  one  of  the  chiefs  of  the  Milesians, 

drowned  at  Teach  Duinn,  in  Kerry,  55-57, 

56,  n. 
Dragons,  prophecy  of  the,  .  .  .  xxv,  xxvi 

Dromceat,  synod  of, xlviii 

Drumlighean,  now  Drumleen,  .  241,  n.,  cvii 

Duan  Albanach, 270,271 

Duan  Eireannach, 221 

Dubhdaleath, liv 

Dubhthach  Daeltengaid,  ....  267,  H. 
Du  Chesne,  Antiquitcs,  &c.,  des  Villes 

de  France 122,  n. 

IRISH  ARCH.  SOC.  NO.  \6. 


Page. 
Ducks  of  St.  Colman,     .     .     .     217,  218,  n. 

Duharra,  in  Tipperary 257 

Duleek.     See  Daimhliag. 

t)umn,  a  mound,  or  tumulus,   ...     67,  n. 

Dumha  Dessa 209 

Dundalethglas, liv 

Dun-Chermna,  or  Dun-Patrick,   262,  n.,  263 
Dun  Monaidh, 285,  n. 


E. 


Ealga,  a  name  of  Ireland 1 43 

Earc,  daughter  of  Loarn,  King  of  Alba, 

180,  n.,  ci,  cii,  civ,  sq. 
— ,  poem  on  her  de- 
scendants,        civ,  sq. 

Eas  Maghe,  yew  tree  of,      ....  220,  n. 
Eber.     See  Heler. 

Ebhlinne,  Sliabh, 246,  n.,  247 

Eire,    Queen  of  the   Tuatha  De,  con- 
quered by  the  Milesians, 247 

Elair,  or  St.  Hilary 135 

Elbod  (St.),  his  date  and  history,      .     .6,7 

• ,  brought  the  Welsh  churches 

into  conformity  with  the  Roman  mode 

of  keeping  Easter, 7 

Eleutherius,  Pope,  sends  missionaries  to 

Britain, 63 

Eligius,  or  Eloy  (St.),  sermon  preached 

by, 145,  w. 

Elvodugus.     See  Elbod. 
Embros   Gleutic,    or  Emmrys  Wledig, 
i.  e.  Ambrose,  sovereign  of  the  land, 

97,  98,  n. 

Enfled,  daughter  of  Edwin,      .     .     .     .113 
Engist.     See  Hengist. 

Eochaidh  Doimhlen, 255 

Eochaidh  Muinreamhain,    .     .     153,  n.,  275 
Eochaidh  Mac  Eire,  King  of  the  Fir- 
bolg,  his  earn, 198,  «. 


CXX11 


Page. 

Eochaidh  of  Rathluine 259 

Eocho  Mairedha  (Lough  Neagh  called 

from  him), 267 

Eoghanachts,  the,  ....  258,  n.,  259 
Eothail,  strand  of,  now  Trawohelly,  198,  n. 

,  earn  on, ib.  199 

Episfort 100,  n.,  101 

Erglan,  chief  of  the  Nemedians,  274,  n.,  275 
Eri,  or  Ireland,  first  inhabitants  of,  .  .  43 

Ernai, 262,  n.,  263 

Eryri,  Mount,  now  Snowdon,  ....  98 
Europe,  division  of,  between  the  sons  of 

Japheth 33 


F. 


Fahhal,  a  river  tributary  to  the  Boyne, 

213,  n. 

Fachtna  Fathach,  King  of  Ireland,    .  263, 

265,  n. 

puiroi, 66,  n.,  93,  n. 

Fanad,  territory  of, cvii 

Fathain.     See  Othuin. 

Faustus  (St.),  son  of  Vortigern  or  Gor- 

tigern 104,  n.,  105 

Fearmail,  chief  of  Guorthigerniawn,     .    105 

Felire  Beg,  quoted, xii 

Fenians, 223,  ib.,  jj.,  225 

Fenius  Farsaidh,  King  of  Scythia,     .  223,  n., 

227,  229 

Per  da  Ghiall 250,  n.,  257 

Fermnaigh,  now  Ferney,  .  .  260,  n.,  267 
Fial,  wife  of  Lugadh,  her  death,  .  .  249,  7i. 
Fiatach  Finn,  King  of  Emania,  .  .  257,  n. 
Finacta,  King  of  Ireland,  conquers  the 

Picts 51 

Finnabhair  Abha,  now  Fennor,    214,  n.,  215 

Finnleikr  Jarl  the  Scot Ixxix 

Firbolg,  derivation  of  the  name,    .     .    44,  n. 


Page. 

Firbolgs,  conjecture  respecting  their  date 
and  origin  .........  xcix,  c 

-  ,  Keating'g  account  of  the  three 
tribes  of  the,     ......     45,  n.,  ix 

-  seize    Man,  and  the  islands  of 
Ara,  Islay,  and  Rachlin,       ....     49 

Fir  Domnann,       .......     45,  ix 

Fir  Droma,      .........    cix 

Fir-Galeoin,   twofold  derivation  of  the 

name,      ....  45,  ib.  n.,  49,  50,  n.,  ix 

pochlait),  a  cave,      ......  1  1  6,  n. 

Fomorians  ..........     45 

Forann.     See  Pharaoh. 

Forcu,    ...........    149 

Fordun  (John  of)   Scotichronicon,   159,  »., 

161,  n. 
--  ,  his  misrepresentations  of 

the  history  of  Macbeth,        ....      xc 

Fothads,  the  three,    ....     256,  n.,  257 

Fotharts,  the,       .......  254,  n. 

Fothla,  conquered  by  the  Milesians,       .  247 
Fothudan,  promontory  of,  .....  273 

Four  Masters,  205,  n.,  207,  n.,  208,  ».,  209,  n. 
.  an  ash  tree,      ....  116,  n. 


G. 

Gabhal  Liuin,  now  Galloon,  wonderful 
well  of,    ..........    195 

Gabraighe  Succa,      .......  269 

Gamh    Sliabh,  now  the   Ox  Mountain, 
Co.  Sligo  ;  well  of,     .....  220,  n. 

5«e  bulgu,      .........     xii 

Gaecial,  adventures  of  the,  according  to 
their  own  traditions  ......    53-57 

Gaedhuil  Glas  .........  231 

Gael,  the  common  name  of  the  Irish  and 
the  Highlanders  of  Scotland,  in  their 
respective  languages,  .     .     .      26,  n.,  cxiv 
Geathluighe,    ......     235,  n.,  237 


cxxm 


Page. 
5ai6il,   used   to    translate    the     Latin 

Scoti, 26,  n. 

5aiUiciTi,  a  dart, 45,  n. 

Gale  (T.),  his  edition  of  Nennius,    .     .       2 

Galengs,  the 260,  n.,  261 

Galeoin  [Gelonus],  son  of  Hercules,     .     49 

Galeons  of  Leinster, 269 

Germanus  (St.),  miracles  of,  ....     79 

,  his  miracle   as   recorded  by 

Hericus  Autisiodorensis,      ....    xxl 

,  Apostle  of  the  Isle  of  Man,  .    viii 

Giolla  Caoimhin,  said  to  be  the  trans- 
lator of  the   Historia  Britonum  into 

Irish, 21,  n.,  cxi 

. . ,  history  of  the  Britains  by,  cxi 

Gildas  (St.),  his  Historia  Britonum,     .       1 

,  a  common  title  with  the  Irish,  .    ib. 

Giraldus  Cambrensis,  his  account  of  the 

Picts  and  Scots cxii 

. ,  his  work,  De  In- 

stitutione  Principis,    .           ....  cxii 
_ .,  Descriptio   Cam- 
bria;  129,  n. 

,  Topographia  Hi- 

berime,  192,  193,  195,  n.,  197,  n.,  204,  n., 
216,  n.,  218,  n.,  251,  n. 

Glammis,  thane  of,  error  respecting,  .  xc 
Glas,  son  of  Agnomon,  .  .  .  234,  n.,  235 
Glass  towers,  legends  of,  ....  47,  »• 
gleac,  a  fight,  a  battle,  ....  283,  n. 

Glen  Ailbe,  in  Angus, 119 

Glendaloch,  Book  of,     ...     192,  n.,  193 
Glewysing,    region   of,   in    Monmouth- 
shire  xxv 

,  its  kings, ib. 

Golgotha,  or  Gaethluighe,  .  .  235,  ib.  n. 
Gortigern  or  Vortigern,  son  of  Gudal, 

king  of  Britain 75,  xxvii 

,  variations   in  the  spelling  of 

the  name ib. 


Page. 

Gortimer,  warfare  of, 99 

,  his  four  battles  with  the  Sax- 
ons,      101 

Gratian,  reigns  conjointly  with  Valenti- 

nian, 69 

5puna  cacha, xi 

Gratianus  Municeps, xxi 

Grecian  origin  of  the  Gael,     .     .     .  225,  n. 

Grian, 257 

Grimm's  Deutsche  Mythologie,    .     .   145,  «. 
Guaire,  Sliabh,  now  Slieve  Gorey,  .  213,  n. 

Guanach, 37 

,  probably  the  translator  of  the 

Historia  Britonum  into  Irish,  .  .  .  21 
Guaul,  or  Wall  of  Severus,  .  .  64,  n.,  65 
Gueleon  or  Gelonus,  son  of  Hercules, 

ancestor  of  the  Picts,  .  .  120,  n.,  121,  131 
Guent,  wonderful  cave  of,  .  .  .  .11" 
Gunn  (W.),  his  edition  of  Nennius,  .  2 

Gunnis, 99 

Guta,  the  Isle  of  Wight,   ....     29,  n. 
Gwenddolen  ap  Ceidaw,  prince  of  the 

Celyddon, xxxiv 

Gwynnedd,  or  North  Wales,  ...    98,  n. 
Gwyddil,  the  Welsh  word  for  Irish,  26,  n., 


H. 


Heber,  son  of  Milesius,  takes  the  north- 
ern half  of  Ireland,     57 

Heilic,  Loch,  wonder  of, 117 

Hengist  arrives  in  Britain,       ....     77 
,  his  stratagem  and  banquet,  .    85-89 

Herer,  i.  e.  Snowdon 93,  98,  n. 

Hericus  of  Auxerre, 12,  xxi 

Herimon,   son   of    Milesius,   takes    the 
southern  half  of  Ireland,      ....     57 

,  expels  the  Picts  out  of  Ire- 
land,          125, 141 


q  2 


CXX1V 


Page. 

Higden  (Ralph)  Polychronicon,  .     .  192,  n., 

219,  n. 
Historia  Britonum,  attributed  to  Gildas,       1 

,  and  to  Marcus  Ana- 

choreta 11 

. ,  compiled  by  Marcus 


for  the  edification  of  the  Irish,  A.  D. 

822, 18 

. ,  republished  by  Nen- 

nius,  A.  D.  858 ib. 

,  treatment  of  the 


work  by  transcribers, 19 

,    and    bv    its     Irish 


translator, 20,  21 

Horsley's  Britannia  Romana,  .     .     .     65,  n. 
Huasem,  poet  of  the  Picts 143 

I. 

Japheth,  descent  of  the  Gael  from,    .     .  225 
Iccius,  Portus,  supposed  to  be  the  vil- 
lage of  Vissent  or  Witsent,  .     .     .    31,  n. 

Icht,  sea  of, 31 

Ida,  son  of  Ebba, 113 

He  or  Hay,  a  settlement  of  the  Picts,  14C,  n., 

147 

lltutus  (St.),  miraculous  altar  of,       .  117,  w. 
lubber  Boinne,  the  mouth  of  the  river 

Boyne, 14C,  n. 

Inbher  Buais  [the  Bush  river],     .      206,  n., 

267 

Colptha, 247,  n. 

Scene,  the  mouth  of  the  river 

Skeen 249,  «. 

Slaine,  or  Wexford  bay;  the 

Picts  landed  there,  .  -  .  .  123,  135 

Inis  Geidh,  now  Inishkea,  the  lone  crane 
of, 221,  n. 

Gluair,  or  Inishglory,  wonderful 

property  of, 192,  193 


Page. 

Inis  Fithi,  divided  into  three  parts  by 
lightning, 205,  n.,  207 

Innes,  his  theory  of  the  origin  of  the 
Picts, xxix,  xxxi 

Johannes  Malala, xxiv 

John  of  Salisbury,  Polycraticon,  sive 
de  Nugis  Curialium, 123,  n. 

lona  Club,  Collectanea  de  Rebus  Albani- 
cis,  published  by, 272,  n. 

lonmanaich, 257 

Josephus,      .     .     .     ; 236,  n. 

Ireland,  date  of  its  invasion  by  the  Gaels,     59 

Irrus,  the  S.  \V.  promontory  of  Kerry,  248,  n. 

Isidorus  Hispalensis,  his  testimony  re- 
specting the  Scots xcviii 

Ith,  death  of, 24 1 

,  account  of  his  death  in  the  Book 

of  Lecan ib.  n. 

Julius  Caesar  invades  Britain,  .     .     .    59-61 


K. 


Karl  Hundason,  said  by  the  Northmen 
to  have  taken  the  kingdom  of  Scot- 
land,   Ixxxii 

— ,  identical    with    Mac- 
beth  Ixxxiii 

Keating,   History  of  Ireland,  quoted  42,  «., 

43,  M.,44,  ».,  49,  n.,  5C,  n.,  142,  n.,  229,  n., 

sq.,  240,  Ji.,  247,  n.,  269,  ». 

Kenneth  M'Alpin,      .     .     .     •     .     .  151.  n. 

Kilkeas.     See  Cille  Cess. 


L. 

Lagenians,    are    of  the   race   of   Heri- 

mon 253,  n. 

Laighse,  or  Leix,  the  seven,     ....  265 
Langhorne,  Chron.  Reg.  Angluc,     .    190,  n. 


cxxv 


Page. 

Lanigan,  Eccl.  History  of  Ireland,    179,  n., 
181,  B.,  187,  n.,  217,  B. 

Laoighne  Faelaidh,  race  of,  ...  204,  n. 
Laodicea  in  Syria,  foundation  of,  by 

Seleucus  Nicator, xxiv 

Lassair  (St.), 208,  n. 

Latham,  now  Larne, 257 

Layamon, 245,  n. 

Leabhar  Gabhala,55,  n.,  148,  n.,  234-5,  B.,  sq., 
241,  n.,  244,  n.,  247,  n.,  249,  B. 
Leamain  (the  river  Levin),      .      1 13,  1 14,  B. 
Lecan,  Book  of,  Tract  on  the  History 

of  the  Picts  in, Ixv 

,  three    different    copies    of  the 

chapter  on  the  origin  of  the  Picts  in,    xcii 
Leix.     See  Laighse. 

Lemnon,  Loch  Lomond,  wonders  of,      .  113, 

1 14,  B. 

Leo,  or  Loth,  king  of  the  Picts,  .  .  xxxvi 
Letha,  or  Letavia  (i.  e.  Armorica),  69,  xix 
,  fabulous  origin  of  the  name  as 

given  by  Nennius, ib. 

,  used  by  the  Irish  also  to  signify 

Latium, ib. 

LiaFail, 200,  B.,  201 

Liathan,  son  of  Hercules, 53 

Liathmhuine,  the  plain  now  covered  by 

Loch  Neagh, 267,  B. 

Ligurn,  grandson  of  Eochadh  Finn  Fo- 

thart,        261,  B. 

Linnmhuine,     ancient     name    of  Loch 

Neagh, 267,  n. 

Llan  y  Gwyddyl,  now  Holyhead,       .   190,  n. 

Lleirwg  Lleuver  Mawr, xv 

Lloyd  and  Powel,  Description  of  Wales, 

190,71. 

Loarn  Mac  Ere,  King  of  Scotland,     178,  n., 

179,  n. 

Loch  Cre, 217 

Febhail 255 


Page. 
Loch  Heilic 117 

—  Laigh,  disappearance  of,      ...  207 
.  Leibhinn,  or  Leane,    .     .     .     208,  209 

—  Lein,  circles  of, 220,  n. 

—  Lemnon  (Lomond) 113 

.  n-Eochaidh.     See  Neagh. 

—  nan-Onchon, 199,  ib.  «. 

Loch  Kiach,  now  Lough  Reagh,  220,  n. 

Loingraib,  or  Llwyngarth,  altar  of,  .   117,  n. 
Lucius,  king  of  Britain,  his  conversion 

to  Christianity 63,  xiii 

Lughaidh  Gala, 262,  B.,  263 

Lughaidh,  son  of  Ith,     ....     243,  261 
,  Tract  on  the  history  of  the 

race  of,  in  the  Book  of  Lecan, .     .     ib.,  n. 

Lugaid  Lage 260,  n.,  261,  263 

Lugaidh  Orcthe, 262,  B.,  263 

Luighni,  the, 260,  n.,  203 

Luimnech, 240,  B.,  241 

Lulacli  Mac  Gilcomgan,     .     .  Ixxxiv,  Ixxx 

Lumphannan,  battle  of, Ixxxi 

Luh'ig,  son  of  Sarran, 181 

Lynch,  Dr.  John,  Cambrensis  E  versus, 

105,  n.,  166,  n.,  190,  n.,   193,  B.,  195,  n., 
197,  B.,  204,  B. 
,  his  Latin  translation  of  Keating's 

History  of  Ireland 227,  n. 

M. 

Mabillon,  Vet.  Analecta,  .  .  .  .145,  n. 

Macbeth Ixxviii 

,  his  claim  to  the  Crown,  .  Ixxx, 

Ixxxviii 

,  meaning  of  the  name,  .  .  .  ib. 

,  legend  of  his  irregular  birth,  Ixxxix 

,  married  to  Gruoch,  daughter 

of  Bodhe, Ixxx 

,  celebrity  of  his  name  among 

the  Northmen, Ixxix 


CXXV1 


Page. 

Macbeth,  identical  with  Karl  Hundason, 

Ixxxiii 

Mac  Brethach,  probably  Macbeth,  .   152,  n., 

153,  Ixxviii 

Mac  Caithlin,  now  Campbell,  in   Scot- 
land, family  of,  their  descent,    .     .  261,  n. 

Mac  Coisi,  the  poet, 209 

Macedonius,  heresy  of, 69 

Mac  Eoghan  (Muiredhach),    .     .     .     .      ci 

Mac  Firbis,  book  of,   265,  ».,  269,  n.,  271,  n. 

,  his  history  of  Muiredhach 

Mac  Eoghan, ci 

Machlin,  the  quern  of, 119 

Mac  Neill  (Hugh)  bloody  shower  in  the 
time  of, 208,  n.,  209 

Mac  Rustaing,  Grave  of,    .     .     .201,  ib.,  n. 

Maol-Gobhann,  well  of, 215 

Maelgwn  Gwynedd,   king  of  Wales  in 
the  sixth  century, xxxiii 

Maelmura  of  Othain,      .     .     .     221,  222,  n. 

Magh  Ellite, 93 

,  the  Campus  Elccti  in  the  re- 
gion of  Glewysing xxv 

Magh  Fothaid, 267 

-  Ithe 240,  n. 

-  Macha,  the  plain  of  Armagh,      266,  n., 

267 

-  Moghna, 267 

—  Sulidhe,  the  plain  round  the  river 
Swilly, 266,  n.,  267 

Tuireadh,  battle  of,    .     .     .     .   198,  n. 

Uisnigh, 267 

Magnantia,  or  Mentz, 63 

— ,  cause  of  the  error  that  Clau- 
dius died  there, 63,  n. 

Maiate, xxxii 

ITlnir,  druidism, 144,  n. 

Manann,  or  Man,  wonders  of,  .  .  .119 
— ,  ancient  history  of,  ....  vi,  vii 
—  its  conversion  to  Christianity,  .  viii 


Page. 
Manannan  Mac   Lir,  account  of,  from 

Cormac's  Glossary vii 

— ,  his  true  name  Oirb- 

sion  or  Orbsen, ib. 

Manks,  an  Irish  people,  probably  Cru- 

theni  or  Ulster  Picts, xliii 

Marcus  Anachoreta xxi 

,  published  the  Histo- 

ria  Hritonum  before  Nennius,  ...     1 1 
,  a  Briton  born,  but 


educated  in  Ireland, 12 

,  had  been  an    Irish 

bishop 14 

— ,  his  history,    .     .    14,  15 

,  date  of  his  Historia 


Hritonum 16,  17 

Martin  (St.),  of  Tours,       ...       67,  213 

— ,  cave  of, 212,  n. 

Maximian,  becomes  emperor 67 

plants  the  British  colony  in  Ar- 

morica, ib. 

Maximus  invades  Britain,  .     .     .  ib.  xv.  sq. 

,  his  magical  dream xvi 

made  emperor  by  the  soldiers,     69 

Meadon,  the  well  of  grain  in,  .     .     .     .119 

Merlin xxiv,  xxxiv 

Merlin,  Roman  de, 47,  n. 

Merobaudes, 69,  n. 

Mervyn,  King  of  Man, xliii 

Messingham,  Florilegium  Insula  Sancto- 
rum,     218,  n. 

Michael  (St.),  apparition  of,  in   A.  D. 

708 xviii 

Midir 263 

Miledh  or  Milesius, 55 

— ,  sons  of,  their  expedition  to  Ire- 
land,     241,  ty. 

.,  division  of  Ireland  between  the 


sons  of, 57 

Milesian  invasion  of  Ireland,  date  of,     .     55 


CXXV11 


Page. 

Mis,  Sliabh, 246,  n.,  247 

Mochuille  (St.) 265,  a. 

Moddan  of  Duncansby, Ixxxii 

,  slain  by  Thorfinn  Sigurdson,    .     ib. 

Mogh  Lamha, 254,  n. 

. Nuadhat, 261 

Roith,  a  celebrated  Druid,  .     .     .265 

. ,  families  descended  from  him, 

ib.,  n. 
-,  legend  of  his  having  assisted 


Simon  Magus, ib. 

Molagga  (Saint), 265,  n. 

Molua  (Saint), 200,  n. 

,  story  of  his  vision  in  com- 
pany with  St.  Comgall 206,  n. 

Monaidh  (see  Dun  Monaidh),  ....  285 

Mons  Jovis, xviii 

Moryson  (Tynes) 205,  n. 

TTlumcinn,  the  top  or  surface,      .     .     55,  n. 

Muiredhach,  son  of  Eoghan.sonof  Niall,  179, 

ci,  sq. 

Muirchertach  Mac  Erca,       .     .181,  ci,  sq. 

Musca,  or  Muscraighe  (now  Muskerry), 

262,  n.,  263 

N. 

Naomh-Seanchus, 180,  n. 

Neachtain,  a  disciple  of  Saint  Patrick, 

214,  n. 
Neagh  (Loch),  its  wonderful  property, 

194,  195 

— • ,   story  of  the  origin  of,  as 

told  by  Cambrensis, 194 

,  ancient  name  of,  .     .     .  267,  «. 

Nectan  I.,  his  several  surnames,  .  .  .  xliv 
Nel,  son  of  Fenius  Farsaidh,  .  .  229-231 
Nemed  ;  his  followers  peopled  Ireland,  45 

Nemroth,  i.  e.  Nirnrod, 227 

Nennius,  various  forms  of  the  name,      .  4,  5 


Page. 

Nennius,  may  have  had  the  title  of  Gil- 
das,      1 

,  his  date, 2,  3 

Nimrod, 227 

Ninia  (St.), xxxiii 

Noe,  division  of  the  world  between  the 

sons  of, 31-33 

North,    anciently   denoted   by   the  left 

hand  side, 41,  n. 

Nuull,  meaning  of  the  word,  .     .     .  261,  n. 

O. 

O'Conor,   Dr.,    Rerum     Hibernicaruni 
Scriptores,      .     .    126,  n.,  252,  n.,  270,  n. 

O'Donnell    (Magnus),   Life  of  St.   Co- 
lumba,  quoted, xxv 

O'Donovan  (John),  Irish  Grammar, 

128,  n.,  129,  n. 

,  Hy-Fiachrach,  .  207,  n. 

. — -,  Battle  of  Magh  Rath, 

127,  n.,  150,  n. 

,  Tribes  and  Customs 

of  Hy-Many,    .     .     .     .     185,  n.,  256,  n. 

,  Book  of  Rights,   257,  n. 

O'Driscol, 261,  n. 

Oen-aibhle 263 

O'Flaherty,  Ogygia  quoted,  .  43,  n.,  44,  n., 
46,  n.,  47,  n.,48,  «.,  57,  n.,  127,  n.,  178,  n., 
19-2,  n.,  sq.,  195,  n.,  200,  n.,  220,  n.,  224,  n., 
254,  n.,  sq.,  passim,  277,  n.,  280,  n.,  282,  n. 

O'Flynn,  Eochy,  a  poem  by,  cited,    .     56,  n. 

O'Hederscol,  or  O'Driscol,  family  of,  261,  n. 

OiTieacc, 62,  n. 

Oran  (St.),  of  lona, xxv 

Orbhraigh,  or  Orrery.     See  Arbhraighe. 

Ore,  the  Orkneys 49-51,  viii 

O'Reilly    (Edward),    account  of  Irish 
writers  (Trans.  Iberno- Celtic  Society) 

209,n.,  221,n.,  222,  «. 


CXXV111 


Page. 
Orior,  the  wells  of,  .     .     .     .     210,  n.,  211 

Orkney inga  Saga, 147,  n. 

Ors  and  Engist  arrive  in  Britain,      .     .     77 

,  their  genealogy,    .     .     .     ib. 

Orosius, 239,  n. 

Othain,  or  Fathain,  now  Fahan,  .     .   222,  n. 

Owen  ap  Maxen  Wledig xvii 

Owles.     See  Umhaile. 


P. 

Parthalon,  first  possessor  of  Ireland,  .  43 
,  Heating's  account  of  his  par- 
ricide and  death 43,  n. 

,  the  name  identical  with  Bar- 

tholomeus viii 

Patrick  (St.) 107,  101 

• ,  legend  of  the  voice  calling 

him  from  Caille  Fochladh,  .  202,  203,  n. 
,  privileges  obtained  by 

him  for  the  men  of  Ireland,      .     .  219,  71. 

Pausanius  Chronographus,       ....  xxiv 

Pennant,  Tour  in  Scotland  quoted,  .     .  xxv 

Petrie  (Geo.),  on  Tara  Hill,  127,  n.,  140,  n., 

181,  n.,  184,  n.,  190,  191,  n.,  200,  n. 

• ,  Round  Towers,  .  .  187,  n. 

Pharaoh,  King  of  Egypt,  ....  229-233 
Piccardach,  use  of  the  word  in  Tigher- 

nach  and  the  Annals  of  Ulster,  .  .  Ixii 
Pictavis,  or  Poictiers,  founded  by  the 

Picts, 5:?,  122,  n.,  123,  133 

Pictones  and  Pictores,  used  to  designate 

the  Picts  in  the  Irish  Annals,  .  Ixii,  Ixiii 
Pictish  language  in  Bede's  time  different 

from  the  Gaelic, xxxix 

Picts,  origin  of, xxix,  xxxix 

— ,  legendary  history  of,  documents 

relating  to Ixv 

,  rule  of  succession  to  the  crown  by 

the  female  line Iv 


Page. 
Picts,  story  of  the  wives  given  to,  from 

the  Book  of  Lecan, Ixxi 

,  Chronicon  Pictorum,      .     .     .     .Ixxv 

— ,  etymology  of  their  name,     .     .     .   xlii 

.     See  Cruithnians. 

Poictiers,  founded  by  the  Picts,  53,  ib.,  n.,  123 

Pogus,  or  Powis, 85 

Policornus,  King  of  Thrace,  .     .   121,  Ixvii 

Pompa  or  Babona 179,  n. 

Pinkerton,    Inquiry  into  the  History  of 

Scotland,   121,  n.,  srj.,  124,  n.,  152,  n.,  sq., 
160,  H.,  162,  163,  n. 
,  his  theory  of  the  origin  of  the 

Plots xxix 

Pirminii  Abbatis  Libellus,  quoted,     .   145,  n. 
Promontorium,  used  to  signify  a  rath  or 

fort, 29,  n . 

Pughe  (Dr.  Owen),  his  etymology  of  the 

name  Picts xlii 

R. 

Rachra,  or  Rachlin,  seized  by  the  Fir- 
bolgs 49 

Rachrann  in  Brc-gia,  now  Lambay  Island,  139 

Rath  Both,  now  Raphoe,  the  well  of,     .   197 

Rees  (Mr.  Rice),  Essay  on  the   Welsh 
saints,  quoted, 104,  n. 

Reeves   (Rev.   \V.),   Eccles.    Antiq.    of 
Down  and  Connor  and  Dromore,    271,  n., 

275,  n. 

Reptiles,  venomous,  none  in  Ireland,  218,  n., 

219 

Resuscitation  of  animals  a  common  mira- 
cle in  Irish  hagiography, xxiv 

Rhydderch  Hael,  prince  of  Strathclyde,     Ix 

Rhydychain,  now  Oxford,  the  centre  of 
Britain, xxvi 

Richard,  Analyse  des  conciles,     .     .188,  n. 

Riffi,  or  Mount  Riphaeus,   .     .     235,  236,  ». 


CXX1X 


Page. 

Righbard,  son  of  Brighe, 267 

Hinn,  a  promontory, 274,  n. 

Rodri  Mawr,  division  of  Wales  by,  .     .  xxiii 
Roinn,  the  British  name  of  the  isle  of 

Thanet, 78,  n.,  79 

Romans,  come  to  Britain 59 

Ross  Dela,  now  Ross  Dala,      .       215,  ib.  n. 

,  fiery  belfry  of, ib. 

Ross  Oiligh, cii 

Rowland's  Mona, 190,  191,  n. 

Rus  Ecb,  now  Russagh,      ....  201,  n. 
Rycaut's  Turkish  Empire 229,  re. 

S. 

Sabraind,  the  Sabrina  or  Severn,  origin 

of  the  name,     ....     30,  n.,  1 15,  117 
Samuel,  son  of  Beulan  and  L;cta,  proba- 
bly the  same  as  Nennius,      ....     1 1 

Sarran,  genealogy  of, 178,  n. 

Saxons,  their  conquest  of  Britain,     .    43,  75 
Scota,  daughter  of  Pharaoh,    .     .     .     .231 

,  Scotland,    called  "the  East,"  by 

Irish  writers, 287,  n. 

Scots,  the  name  identified  with  Scytha;,        x 

,  history  and  meaning  of  the  name,   ib., 

xcv 

,  derivation  from  Scythae  impossible, 

xcvi 

Seadna,        cv 

Seanboth  of  Colman,  ducks  of,     .     .     .217 

Seeds  of  battle, 60, 7*.,  xi 

Seleucus  Nicator,  foundation  of  Antioch 

by, xxiv 

of  Laodicea 

in  Syria, ib. 

Severus  invades  Britain, 63 

builds  the  Saxon  wall 65 

Severus  II., 71 

. ,  who, xx 

IRISH  ARCH.  SOC.    1 6. 


Page. 
Severus  II.,,  probably  identical  with  Gra- 

tian, ib. 

Shakspeare,  his  error  respecting  the  thane 

of  Glammis,      .......    xc.,  n. 

Sitiein  or  paibem,  ancient  form  of  the 

emphatic  pan, 30,  n.,  32,  n. 

Siward,  Earl  of  Northumberland,     .    Ixxxiv 

Simeon  of  Durham, Ixxxii 

Skene,  Mr.,  his  translation  of  the  Duan 

Albanach, 272,  n. 

,  his  Highlanders  of  Scotland,  Ixi 

Stone,  bleeding 213 

Slane,  great  cross  of, 215 

Slieve  Riffi, 235 

Sleinnaibh, 241 

Soghans,  the  seven, 265 

Solinus,  his  account  of  the  Pictish  polity 

as  to  the  wives  of  their  kings  in  the 

Hebrides Ivi 

Spe&,  meaning  of  the  word,    .     .     .   144,  it. 

Sru,  son  of  Esru, 235 

Stevenson,  (Jos.),  his  edition  of  Nennius,  -2 
Suidhe  Odhrain,  now  Seeoran,  lake  of,  213 
Swine's  dike, 64,  n. 

T. 

Talieson, 128,  n. 

Call  (a  Brehon  law  term),        278,  n.,  cv,  n. 

Tallaght,  near  Dublin,  the  monument  of 
Partholan's  followers,  ....  44,  n. 

Tara 141 

,  three  wonders  of,        1 09 

Teach  Duinn,  in  Kerry,  Keatinge's  ac- 
count of, 56,  n.,  248,  ». 

Teamhair.     See  Tara. 

Teineth,  or  Thanet, 79 

Templeshanbo.     See  Seanboth. 

Tinnandrum,  i.  e.  Trinovantum  or  Lon- 
don, origin  of  the  name,  ....  Gl,  «. 

Ciftnoeol,  tradition, 26,  n. 


cxxx 


Page. 

h,  the  hollow  of  the  temple  be- 
fore the  ear, 38,  n. 

Cop,  a  lord,  a  chief, 223,  n. 

Torinis,  or  Tours,  pilgrimages  to,    .     .  213 

Tory  Island,  why  so  called,     .     .     .     48,  n. 

,  destruction  of  the  Fomo- 

rians  and  Nemedians  on,      .     .     .     .     ib. 

Tours,  Council  of,  in  A.  D.  566  or  567, 

188,  n. 

Tower  of  the  Fomorians,    ....     47-49 

Tradry,  rural  deanery  of,  .     .     .     .  260,  n. 

Tranon,  or  Traeth  Antoni,  the  estuary 
of  the  Anton 115,  n. 

Tratraidhe 260,  n.,  261 

Tuatha  de  Danann,  their  invasion  of  Ire- 
land, .     • 45,  47,  ix 

— ,  their  celebrated  men,  47 

,   their   conflict  with 

the  Milesians 247 

conjecture    respecting 

their  date  and  origin c 

Tuatha  Fidhbha,  or  men  of  the  woods, 

123,  137 
Tuilen,  St.  Cairnech  of, cxi 

Welshmen  who  settled  at,     .     .    ib. 

Turner,  History  of  the  Anglo-Saxons,  76,  n. 
Tzschucke  in  Pompon.  Melam,     .     .   129,  n. 

U. 

Ua  Dangal,  son  of  Beathamnas,  his  ad- 
venture at  Tours, 213 

Uisneach,  hill  of, 246,  n.,  247 

Uaisneimh,  poet  of  the  Picts.    See  Hua- 
sem 125 


Page. 

Umnyenn,  an  ash  tree 116.  n. 

Ui  Tairsigh, 269 

Ulexis, 67 

Ulfa, 139 

Ulster,  Annals  of, 214,  n. 

Umhaile,  district  of, 207,  n. 

Ussher,  Primordia,  quoted,  41,  n.,  186,  n., 
201,  n.,  203,  n. 

V. 

Valentinian  and  Theodosius  joint  empe- 
rors  69 

Vecturiones, xxxi,  xxxiv 

Vecturiones  and  Caledons,  Mr.  Skene's 
opinion  of  their  Gadelian  origin,  .  .  Ixii 

Victor,  joint  emperor  with  Maximus, 
slain, 71 

Viks,  the  supposed  ancestors  of  the  Picts, 
a  mere  fiction  of  Pinkerton,  .  .  xxix,  xxx 

Vincent  of  Beauvais 228,  n. 

Vortigern,  etymology  of  the  name,  see 
Gortigern xxviii 


W. 


Wallace's  Orkneys, 147,  n. 

Ware  (Sir  James),   Antiquities  of  Ire- 
land  192,  n.,  194,  n. 

Wolf,  descendants  of  the,  in  Ossory,     .  205 

Wonders  of  Britain, 113 

. of  Ireland, 192,193 

of  Man, 119 

Wood  (T.),  Primitive  Inhabitants,  &c., 
quoted, xlv,  n. 


FINIS. 


IRISH 
ARCHAEOLOGICAL  SOCIETY. 


AT  a  General  Meeting  of  the  IKISH  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  SOCIETY,  held 
in  the  Board  Room  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  on  Saturday,  the 
1 9th  day  of  December,  1846, 

THE  MOST  NOBLE  THE  MARQUIS  OF  KILDARE  in  the  Chair, 
The  Secretary  read  the  following  Report  from  the  Council  : 

"  The  month  of  December  being  the  time  of  the  year  in  which  the  Council 
are  bound,  by  the  by-law  passed  on  the  loth  of  July,  1844,  to  summon  a  Ge- 
neral Meeting  of  the  Society,  they  beg  leave  to  lay  before  your  Lordship,  and 
the  Members  here  present,  a  Report  of  the  proceedings  during  the  past  year, 
and  to  congratulate  the  Society  on  being  now  met  together  to  celebrate  its  sixth 
anniversary. 

"Since  the  last  General  Meeting,  held  on  the  ipth  of  December,  1845, 
twenty-two  new  Members  have  been  elected8  ;  whose  names  are  as  follows  : 


His  Excellency  the  Earl  of  Bessborough, 

Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland. 
The  Earl  of  Portarlington. 
Viscount  Suirdale. 


Rev.  Beaver  H.  Blacker. 
'Patrick  Chalmers,  Esq. 
John  David  Chambers,  Esq. 
William  Chambers,  Esq. 


Thomas 


Those  to  whose  names  an  asterisk  is  prefixed  are  Life  Members. 

a 


Thomas  Clarke,  Esq. 

'Rev.  Edward  F.  Day. 

•William  Donnelly,  Esq. 

John  Flanedy,  Esq. 

John  Hyde,  Esq. 

"The  Right  Hon.   Henry   Labouchere, 

M.P. 
The  Rev.  Daniel  M'Carthy. 


John  Nolan,  Junior,  Esq. 

Denis  O' Conor,  Esq. 

R.  More  O'Ferrall,  Esq.,  M.  P. 

Richard  O'Reilly,  Esq. 

Henry  Thompson  Redmond,  Esq. 

John  Sadleir,  Esq. 

Rev.  Charles  Strong. 

William  Robert  Wilde,  Esq. 


"  The  Society  has  to  lament  the  death,  since  the  last  Meeting,  of  the  follow- 
ing seven  Members,  one  of  whom  was  a  Member  of  the  Council,  and  a  zealous 
friend  to  the  Society,  at  its  original  formation  : 


The  Bishop  of  Kildare. 
Viscount  Templetown. 
Sir  Aubrey  de  Vere,  Bart. 
James  Gibbons,  Esq. 


Thomas  Goold,  Esq.,  Master  in  Chancery. 
James  A.  Maconochie,  Esq. 
John  Smith  Furlong,  Esq.,  Q.  C. 


"  The  number  of  Members  on  the  Books  of  the  Society  now  amounts  to 
443 ,  including  60  Life  Members. 

"  Since  the  last  Annual  Meeting,  the  Council  have  issued  to  all  Members, 
who  have  subscribed  for  the  year  1845,  tne  valuable  work  edited  by  Mr.  Har- 
diman,from  a  MS.  in  the  Library  of  Trinity  College,  entitled,  A  Chorographical 
Description  of  West  or  H-iar  Connaught,  written,  A.  D.  1684,  by  Roderick 
O'Flaherty,  Esq.,  author  of  the  '  Ogygia.'  This  volume  is  illustrated  with  a 
map  of  West  Connaught,  and  a  fac-similc  of  O'Flaherty's  hand-writing,  and 
extends  to  483  pages,  including  the  Introduction. 

"  The  delay  in  the  publication  of  this  volume  was  chiefly  owing  to  the  edi- 
tor's absence  from  Dublin,  but  also,  in  some  degree,  to  his  having  discovered, 
after  the  work  was  far  advanced,  a  great  number  of  original  documents  con- 
nected with  the  history  of  West  Connaught,  which  it  seemed  very  desirable  to 
print  in  the  Appendix,  as  a  more  favourable  opportunity  of  publishing  these 
important  records  might  not  occur  hereafter  ;  the  Council,  therefore,  willingly 
acceded  to  Mr.  Hardiman's  wishes,  to  whom  they  take  this  opportunity  of 
returning  their  sincere  thanks. 

"  The  volume  contains  a  mass  of  topographical  and  historical  matter  of  very 
unusual  interest  and  value.  It  is  highly  creditable  to  Mr.  Hardiman's  learning 

and 


and  research,  and  the  Council  are  happy  to  find  that  it  has  been  most  favour- 
ably received  by  the  Members  of  the  Society. 

"  The  Council  had  hoped  to  have  been  able  to  give,  along  with  the  foregoing 
volume,  Cormac's  Glossary.  But  in  this  intention,  which  was  announced  at 
the  last  annual  Meeting,  they  have  been  doubly  disappointed.  The  unex- 
pected size  to  which  Mr.  Hardiman's  Appendix  and  notes  extended,  and  the 
consequent  expense  of  the  work,  render  it  impossible  to  put  together,  as  an 
equivalent  for  one  year's  subscription,  two  such  costly  books.  O'Flaherty's 
West  Connaught  has  actually  cost  the  Society  sixteen  shillings  per  copy  ;  and 
when  to  this  are  added  the  expenses  of  delivery,  salaries,  and  other  charges  of 
the  year,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Council  would  be  wanting  in  their  duty  as 
Trustees  of  the  Society's  funds,  if  they  should  persevere  in  their  original  inten- 
tion of  giving  any  additional  volume,  and  especially  one  so  costly  as  Cormac's 
Glossary,  to  the  Members  of  the  year  1845.  They  hope,  therefore,  that  the 
Society  will  perceive  the  necessity  which  exists  for  a  change  in  the  arrange- 
ment proposed  by  the  Council  of  that  year,  and  announced  in  the  last  Annual 
Report. 

"  Another  source  of  disappointment  has  arisen  from  the  unexpected  obstacles 
that  have  been  experienced  in  the  preparation  of  Cormac's  Glossary  for  the 
Press.  No  person  who  has  never  actually  engaged  in  such  studies  can  ade- 
quately estimate  the  real  difficulties  of  this  work,  filled  as  it  is  with  obsolete 
words  and  obscure  allusions,  fragments  of  the  languages  spoken  by  Northmen, 
Picts,  and  British  in  the  tenth  century,  and  quotations  from  Brehon  laws  and 
ancient  poems,  all  of  which  must  be  sought  for  in  our  manuscript  libraries, 
without  the  aid  of  catalogue  or  index  of  any  kind,  except  such  as  the  private 
labours  of  Mr.  O'Donovan  and  Mr.  Curry  have  provided  for  themselves.  These 
difficulties  are  so  frequent,  and  arise  so  unexpectedly,  that  the  Council  feel  it 
to  be  impossible  to  say  when  this  important  and  laborious  work  will  be  ready 
for  delivery  ;  but  they  can  promise  that  no  pains  or  labour  shall  be  spared  to 
bring  it  out  as  speedily  as  is  consistent  with  the  necessary  attention  to  accuracy. 

"  The  first  volume  of  the  Miscellany  of  the  Irish  Archaeological  Society, 
constituting  the  book  for  the  present  year,  is  now  in  course  of  distribution  to 
the  Members. 

"  In  addition  to  the  contents,  as  announced  in  the  Report  of  last  year,  there 
have  been  added  some  short  pieces,  particularly  The  Annals  of  Ireland,  from 

a  2  the 


the  year  1443  to  1468,  translated  from  the  Irish,  by  Dudley  Firbisse,  or,  as 
he  is  more  usually  called,  Duald  Mac  Firbis,  for  Sir  James  Ware,  in  the  year 
1666. 

"  These  Annals,  which  have  been  quoted  by  Ware,  Harris,  and  others,  are 
of  considerable  value  and  importance,  although  never  before  published.  They 
have  been  translated  from  an  Irish  original,  now  lost,  or  at  least  unknown, 
which  was  evidently  in  the  hands  of  the  Four  Masters,  and  has  been  made  use 
of  by  them  as  an  authority,  for  they  have  frequently  transcribed  it  verbatim  in 
their  Annals. 

"  The  Council  propose  to  give  for  the  year  1847,  The  Irish.  Version  of  the 
'  Historia  Britonum'  of  Nennius,  with  a  translation  and  notes,  by  the  Secre- 
tary ;  and  additional  notes,  and  an  Introduction,  by  the  Hon.  Algernon  Herbert. 
A  considerable  portion  of  this  work  is  printed,  and  it  is  hoped  that  nothing  will 
prevent  its  completion  in  the  course  of  a  few  months. 

"  Of  the  projected  publications  of  the  Society,  it  will  be  necessary  now  to 
speak  very  briefly. 

"  It  was  announced  in  the  last  Annual  Report,  that  the  Council  had  in 
view  a  collection  of  the  Latin  annalists  of  Ireland.  Of  these  there  are  already 
in  the  Press  : 

"  i.  The  Annals,  by  John  Clyn,  of  Kilkenny,  which  have  been  transcribed 
from  a  MS.  in  the  Library  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  collated  with  a  copy  in 
the  Bodleian  Library,  Oxford ;  and  will  be  edited,  with  notes,  by  the  Rev. 
Richard  Butler. 

"  2.  The  Annals  of  Thady  Dowling,  Chancellor  of  Leighlin,  which  will  be 
edited,  with  notes,  by  Aquilla  Smith,  Esq.,  M.D.,  from  a  MS.  in  the  Library 
of  Trinity  College,  Dublin. 

"  3.  The  Annals  of  Henry  Marlborough  ;  from  a  MS.  in  the  Cottonian 
Library,  British  Museum,  collated  with  an  imperfect  copy  in  the  Library  of 
Trinity  College,  Dublin. 

"  To  these  it  is  probable  that  one  or  two  others  of  the  minor  Annals  may  be 
added,  which,  although  in  themselves  of  little  moment,  are  valuable,  as  they 
have  been  quoted  by  our  principal  historians,  and  are  an  essential  part  of  the 
original  sources  of  Irish  history. 

"  Of  the  other  works  proposed  for  publication,  the  Council  are  happy  to  be 
able  to  state  that  one,  which  has  been  long  announced,  and  which  has  been  looked 

for 


for  by  many  Members  of  the  Society  with  much  anxiety,  is  now  nearly  ready 
for  the  printer.  The  Macarise  Excidium,  or,  Destruction  of  Cyprus,  by  Colonel 
Charles  O'Kelly,  giving  an  account  of  the  Civil  Wars  of  Ireland  under 
James  II.,  was  one  of  the  first  works  undertaken  by  this  Society.  It  was 
copied  from  a  MS.  in  the  Library  of  Trinity  College,  and  two  or  three  sheets 
of  it  were  actually  printed,  when  it  was  discovered  that  the  work  had  been  ad- 
vertised, and  was  then  on  the  eve  of  publication  by  the  Camden  Society  of  Lon- 
don. Subsequently,  however,  by  the  liberality  of  Professor  Mac  Cullagh,  a 
Latin  copy  of  the  work,  in  a  MS.  coeval  with  its  author,  was  placed  at  the 
disposal  of  the  Council,  and  Denis  Henry  Kelly,  Esq.,  of  Castle  Kelly,  a  de- 
scendant of  the  author,  kindly  proposed  to  edit  it,  and  had  actually  completed  a 
very  correct  translation  of  the  Latin  copy,  when  another  MS.,  in  English  (also 
coeval  with  the  author),  was  discovered,  and  a  transcript  of  it  procured  for  the 
Society  by  Mr.  Kelly.  The  means  were  thus  supplied  for  putting  forth  a  much 
more  correct  and  authentic  text  than  that  of  the  Camden  Society ;  the  Council, 
therefore,  resolved  to  resume  their  original  intention  of  bringing  out  this  cu- 
rious work ;  especially  as  they  were  fortunate  enough  to  induce  Mr.  O'Callaghan 
to  promise  his  valuable  aid  in  the  illustration  of  it.  Within  the  last  fortnight 
Mr.  O'Callaghan  has  completed  his  portion  of  the  task,  and  has  placed  in  the 
hands  of  the  Council  a  collection  of  notes,  which  cannot  fail  to  prove  highly  in- 
teresting to  the  student  of  our  history,  and  for  which  he  is  entitled  to  the 
warmest  thanks  of  the  Society.  This  work  will,  therefore,  be  put  to  press 
without  delay,  as  soon  as  the  promised  transcript  of  the  English  version  of 
it  is  received  from  Mr.  Kelly.  The  work  will  necessarily  be  expensive,  but 
the  Council  are  resolved  to  undertake  it,  in  the  hope  that  the  great  interest  of 
its  subject,  and  the  well-known  qualifications  of  its  annotator  for  illustrating 
that  portion  of  our  history,  will  induce  the  Irish  public  so  far  to  support  the 
Society,  as  to  cover  the  expenses  of  its  publication. 

"  A  second  volume  of  the  Irish  Archaeological  Miscellany  will  also  be  im- 
mediately undertaken.  The  Council  are  already  in  possession  of  some  mate- 
rials for  this  work,  such  as  a  Latin  translation  of  a  portion  of  the  Annals  of  the 
Four  Masters,  supposed  to  be  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Lynch,  author  of  "  Cam- 
brensis  Eversus,"  the  Obits  of  Lusk,  &c. ;  but  they  would  earnestly  invite  other 
contributions. 

"  Other  works  are  also  in  contemplation,  which  the  want  of  funds  compels 

the 


the  Council  to  defer.     Of  these  the  following  are  ready  for  immediate  pub- 
lication : 

"  I.  The  Annals  of  Inisfallen.  The  original  intention  was  to  edit  these 
Annals  from  a  copy  preserved  in  the  Library  of  Trinity  College,  and  partly 
published,  under  the  name  of  the  Annals  of  Inisfallen,  by  Dr.  O'Conor.  Misled 
by  the  high  authority  of  that  distinguished  scholar,  the  Council,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  present  year,  engaged  Mr.  Curry  and  Mr.  O'Donovan  in  the  task  of 
preparing  a  transcript  of  the  Trinity  College  MS.  for  publication.  But  it  was 
very  soon  found  that  this  MS.  was  not  at  all  what  Dr.  O'Conor  had  supposed  it 
to  be ;  it  turned  out  to  be  a  modern  compilation  from  the  old  Inisfallen  Annals  and 
other  sources,  and,  in  short,  of  no  authority  whatsoever.  It  has,  therefore, 
been  resolved  to  adopt  as  a  text  the  real  Annals  of  Inisfallen,  preserved  in  the 
Bodleian  Library.  In  the  preface  to  the  work,  the  history  of  the  Dublin  copy, 
with  the  reasons  for  regarding  it  as  unworthy  of  credit,  will  be  given  at  length. 

"  II.  The  History  of  the  Boromean  Tribute,  from  a  MS.  in  the  Library  of 
Trinity  College,  edited,  with  a  translation  and  notes,  by  Mr.  Eugene  Curry, 
has  for  some  time  been  nearly  ready  for  the  Press.  This  work  relates  to  an 
interesting  period  of  Irish  history,  which  is  comparatively  little  known,  and  of 
which  but  very  scanty  notices  occur  in  our  popular  historians.  But  it  will  be 
a  book  of  some  300  or  400  pages,  and  want  of  funds  has  hitherto  delayed  its 
publication. 

"  The  same  reason  also  compels  the  Council  to  postpone  the  more  expensive 
publications  which  have  been  announced,  such  as  the  Annals  of  Ulster,  and  the 
Book  of  Hymns,  although  both  of  them  are  works  of  the  highest  interest,  and 
importance.  Some  progress,  however,  has  been  made  in  preparing  them  for 
the  Press.  A  transcript  of  the  Annals  of  Ulster,  the  property  of  the  Secretary, 
has  been  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  Council.  It  was  copied  by  Mr.  Curry 
from  the  ancient  MS.  in  the  Library  of  Trinity  College,  and  has  been  collated 
with  the  Bodleian  MS.  by  Mr.  O'Donovan,  who  was  sent  to  Oxford  by  the 
Council  for  the  purpose.  The  Book  of  Hymns  has  also  been  transcribed  from 
the  original  MS.  in  the  Library  of  Trinity  College ;  but  the  only  other  copy  of 
it  known  to  exist  is  said  to  be  in  the  possession  of  the  Franciscan  College  of 
St.  Isidore,  at  Rome,  and  is  consequently  beyond  the  reach  of  the  Society.  It  is 
a  great  pity  that  the  funds  for  the  publication  of  this  valuable  manuscript  cannot 
be  procured.  The  Manuscript  is  itself  of  the  seventh  or  eighth  century,  and  as 

it 


it  was,  no  doubt,  transcribed  from  much  earlier  documents,  it  may  be  taken  as 
representing  the  doctrine  and  devotion  of  the  Irish  Church  in  the  age  of  St. 
Columba,  when  Ireland  was  so  justly  known  throughout  Europe  as  "  Insula 
Sanctorum."  A  Hymnarium  of  the  seventh  century  is  a  literary  treasure  that 
ought  not  to  be  left  any  longer  in  obscurity. 

"  Of  the  other  works  suggested  for  publication,  the  Council  have  nothing  to 
say  in  addition  to  what  was  stated  by  their  predecessors  in  the  Report  of  last 
year;  they  are  precluded  by  the  deficiency  of  funds  from  undertaking  any  such 
expensive  publications  as  the  Dinnseanchus,  or  the  Brehon  Laws,  which  present 
difficulties  of  so  peculiar  a  nature.  For  such  great  works,  therefore,  they  can 
only  hope  to  prepare  the  way,  and  they  cannot  but  flatter  themselves  that  the 
publications  of  this  Society  have  already  done  much  to  awaken  a  taste  for  Irish 
literature,  and  to  arouse  the  Public  to  some  little  sense  of  the  national  disgrace 
which  rests  upon  us,  for  allowing  these  invaluable  monuments  of  antiquity  to 
slumber  so  long  on  the  shelves  of  our  libraries. 

"  The  Council  have  it  in  contemplation  to  publish,  as  soon  as  they  find  it 
possible,  the  Topographical  Poems  of  O'Dugan  and  O'Hecrin,  with  illustrative 
notes  by  Mr.  O'Donovan,  a  work  that  cannot  fail  to  prove  interesting  to  the 
Public  ;  but  so  many  circumstances,  over  which  they  have  no  control,  may 
combine  to  delay  this  design,  that  they  cannot  undertake  as  yet  to  fix  the  time 
when  this  publication  may  be  expected.  The  same  remark  applies  to  Uuald 
Mac  Firbis's  Account  of  the  Firbolgs  and  Danes  of  Ireland,  and  to  the  Naemh 
Seanchus,  or  History  of  the  Saints  of  Ireland,  attributed  to  Aengus  the  Culdec 
or  some  of  his  disciples,  and  preserved  in  the  Book  of  Lecan.  In  short,  there  is 
the  greatest  abundance  of  interesting  and  important  materials,  and  funds  alone 
are  wanting  for  giving  them  to  the  Public. 

"  It  will  be  remembered  by  the  Society  that  in  former  Rcportsb  the  Council 
more  than  once  declared  that  they  were  overdrawing  the  funds  of  the  Society, 
and  giving  to  the  Members  a  higher  value  for  their  subscriptions  than  the  dis- 
posable means  of  the  Society  justified.  This  was  done  for  the  purpose  of  bring- 
ing the  Society  into  notice,  and  of  enabling  the  Irish  public  to  judge  of  the  great 
abundance  of  the  materials  that  exist,  as  well  as  of  the  manner  in  which  it  was 
proposed  to  render  our  ancient  literature  accessible  to  students.  In  tins  there 

is 

b  See  Report  for  1 842  (prefixed  to  the  Battle  of  Magli  Kagh),  p.  4.  Report  for  1 845 
(prefixed  to  O'Flaherty's  West  Connaught),  p.  6. 


8 

is  no  doubt  the  Council  judged  wisely ;  but  the  time  is  now  come  when  a  dif- 
ferent course  must  be  pursued.  The  experience  of  five  years,  during  which  the 
limited  number  of  500  members  has  never  been  obtained,  proves  clearly  the 
small  amount  of  interest  that  is  felt  for  the  objects  of  the  Society;  and  it  is, 
therefore,  become  the  duty  of  the  Council  to  announce,  that  the  number  of 
pages  hitherto  published  in  the  year  must  henceforth  be  very  seriously  dimi- 
nished, unless  a  large  accession  of  additional  Members  can  be  obtained.  If  every 
Member  would  engage  to  procure  one  new  Member  in  the  course  of  the  next 
year,  the  means  of  bringing  out  the  works  in  preparation  would  be  in  a  great 
measure  supplied ;  but  if  the  Society  remains  at  its  present  limit,  Members 
must  be  content  to  perceive  a  very  sensible  diminution  in  the  bulk  of  our 
annual  publications." 

The  Report  having  been  read,  it  was  moved  by  the  Provost  of 
Trinity  College,  seconded  by  Lieutenant  General  Birch,  and 

"  RESOLVED, — That  the  Report  now  read  be  received  and  printed,  and  cir- 
culated amongst  the  Members  of  the  Society." 

Moved  by  N.  P.  O'Gorman,  Esq.,  seconded  by  Charles  Mac 
Donnell,  Esq.,  and 

"  RESOLVED, — That  the  Rev.  Charles  Graves,  and  James  M°Glashan,  Esq., 
be  appointed  Auditors  for  the  ensuing  year,  and  that  their  statement  of  the  ac- 
counts of  the  Society  be  printed  with  the  Report." 

Movedby  JohnO'Callaghan,  Esq.,  seconded  by  Rev.  Dr.  Wilson,  and 

"  RESOLVED, — That  his  Grace  the  Duke  of  Lcinstcr  be  elected  President  of 
the  Society  for  the  ensuing  year ;  and  that  the  following  Noblemen  and  Gentle- 
men be  the  Council: 


THE    MOST     NOBLK     THE     MARQUIS    OF 
KlLDARE,  M.  R.  I.  A. 

THE  RIGHT  HON.  THE  EARL  OF  LKI- 

TRIM,  M.  R.  I.  A. 
THE    RIGHT     HON.    THE     VISCOUNT 

ADARE,  M.  P.,  M.  R.  I.  A. 
THE   REV.  SAMUEL  BUTCHER,  A.  M., 

M.  R.T.A. 


JAMES  HARDIMAN,  ESQ.,  M.  R.  I.  A. 
THE  REV.  J.  H.  TODD,  D.D.,  M.R.I.A. 
WILLIAM  E.  HUDSON,  ESQ.,  M.  R.  I.  A. 
MAJOR  LARCOM,  R.  E.,  V.  P.  R.  I.  A. 

J.MACCULLAGH,ESQ.,  LL.D.,  M.R.I.A 

GEO.PETRIE,  ESQ.,  R.H.A.,  V.P.R.I.A. 
AQUILLA  SMITH,  ESQ.,  M.  D.,  M.  R.  I.  A. 
J.HUBAND  SMITH,  ESQ.,  A.M., M.R.I.A. 

Moved 


Moved  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Russell,  Vice-President  of  the  College, 
Maynooth,  seconded  by  John  O'Donoghue,  Esq.,  and 

"  RESOLVED, — That  the  thanks  of  the  Society  be  given  to  the  President  and 
Council  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  for  their  kindness  in  granting  the  use  of 
their  Board  Room  for  this  Meeting." 

The  Rev.  the  Provost  of  Trinity  College  having  been  requested 
to  take  the  Chair,  it  was 

"  RESOLVED, — That  the  thanks  of  the  Society  be  given  to  the  Most  Noble 
the  Marquis  of  Kildare,  for  his  conduct  in  the  Chair  at  this  Meeting." 


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IRISH 
ARCHAEOLOGICAL    SOCIETY. 


AT  a  General  Meeting  of  the  IRISH  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  SOCIETY,  held 
in  the  Board  Room  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  on  Wednesday,  the 
22nd  day  of  December,  1847, 

His  GRACE  THE  DUKE  OF  LEINSTER  in  the  Chair, 
The  Secretary  read  the  following  Report  from  the  Council : 

"  The  labours  of  the  Irish  Archaeological  Society  have  now  been  continued 
for  a  period  of  seven  years,  and  the  Council,  on  laying  before  you  their  annual 
Report  of  the  progress  and  prospects  of  the  Society,  arc  compelled,  with  great 
regret,  to  abandon  the  tone  of  hope  with  which  they  have  hitherto  addressed 
you. 

"  They  regret  to  say  that  the  experience  of  the  last  seven  years  has  forced 
upon  them  the  conviction,  that  very  little  interest  is  felt  by  the  Irish  public  for 
the  publication  of  ancient  Irish  literature,  or  the  preservation  of  the  ancient  Irish 
language.  In  seven  years,  during  which  this  Society  has  been  before  the 
public,  we  have  not  succeeded  in  obtaining  500  subscribers,  including  those 
resident  in  England,  in  any  one  year,  who  have  been  willing  to  contribute  an 
entrance  fee  of  £3,  and  an  annual  subscription  of£i,  towards  the  objects  of 'the 
Society ;  and  yet,  before  the  establishment  of  the  Society,  nothing  was  more 
common  than  declamations  on  the  national  disgrace  of  suffering  our  ancient 
Irish  manuscripts  to  moulder  in  oblivion. 

b  2  "  Since 


12 


"  Since  the  last  Annual   Meeting,  twenty-five  new  members  have  been 
elected.     Their  names  are  as  follows: 


His  Excellency  the  Earl  of  Clarendon. 

Lord  John  Manners. 

Mons.  Le  Comte  O'Kelly  Farrell. 

Robert  Archbold,  Esq. 

Rowland  Bateman,  Esq. 

Richard  S.  Bourke,  Esq.,  M.  P. 

W.  H.   Bradshaw,  Esq. 

John  William  Browne,  Esq. 

*R.   Clayton  Browne,  Esq. 

Hev.  George  Crolly. 

Rev.  John  Dunne. 

Sir  Thomas  Esinonde,  Bart. 

John  Greene,  Esq. 


Right  Rev.  Dr.  Haly,  R.  C.  Bishop  of  Kil- 

dare  and  Leighlin. 
Rev.  James  Hamilton. 
The  Kildare-street  Club. 
G.  A.  M'Dermott,  Esq.,  F.  G.  S. 
Right  Rev.  Dr.   M'Nally,  R.  C.   Bishop  of 

Clogher. 

Robert  Power,  Esq. 
*Rev.  G.  C.  Renouard,  B.  D. 
John  Reynolds,  Esq.,  M.  P. 
•George  Smith,  Esq.,  F.  R.  S. 
Michael  Staunton,  Esq. 
Rev.  Dr.  Walsh. 


The  Very  Rev.  Dr.  Yore,  V.  G.  Dublin. 
"  During  the  past  year  the  Society  has  lost,  by  death,  the  following  Members : 

The  Duke  of  Northumberland.  Daniel  O'Connell,  Esq.,  M.  P. 

The  Earl  of  Bessborough.  The  O' Conor  Don.,  M.  P. 

Right  Hon.  Thomas  Grenville.  William  Potts,  Esq. 

•James  Mac  Cullagh,  Esq.  Remmy  Sheehan,  Esq. 

Joseph  Nelson,  Esq.,  Q.  C.  Rev.  Robert  Trail,  D.  D. 

"  The  number  of  Members  now  on  the  books  of  the  Society  amount  10458, 
of  whom  sixty-two  are  Life  Members. 

"  To  show  the  progress  of  the  Society,  the  Council  think  it  right  to  lay 
before  this  Meeting  the  following  tabular  view  of  the  number  of  Members  on 
our  books  in  eacli  year  since  the  commencement  of  our  labours: 


Year. 

Annual 
Members. 

Life 
Members. 

Total. 

Annual 
Increase. 

1841 

221 

11 

232 

1842 

239 

19 

258 

26 

1843 

308 

36 

344 

86 

1844 

337 

48 

385 

41 

1845 

373 

57 

430 

45 

184G 

383 

60 

443 

13 

1847 

396 

62 

458 

15 

;  From 


Those  to  whose  names  an  asterisk  is  prefixed  arc  Life  Members. 


13 

"  From  this  it  appears  that  during  the  last  two  years  the  annual  increase  in 
the  number  of  Members  has  been  very  considerably  less  than  in  any  former 
year  since  the  foundation  of  the  Society ;  and  although  the  unparalleled  sea- 
son of  distress  with  which  we  have  been  visited  during  the  past  year,  and  the 
many  calls  upon  the  sympathies  of  the  public,  may,  in  part,  account  for  this 
fact,  yet  it  is  greatly  to  be  feared  that  this  is  not  the  whole  cause,  and  that  we 
are  also  to  attribute  the  falling  off  to  a  very  general  apathy  on  the  part  of  the 
Irish  public  to  the  objects  for  which  the  Society  was  founded. 

"  This  conclusion  is  strongly  forced  upon  the  Council  by  the  fact,  that  a  large 
number  of  the  existing  Members  of  the  Society  are  in  arrear  of  their  subscrip- 
tions, and  that  the  publications  of  the  Society  have,  therefore,  been  greatly  re- 
tarded for  want  of  funds. 

"  The  Council,  on  the  faith  of  promised  subscriptions,  did  actually  un- 
dertake several  important  works,  some  of  which  are  in  the  Press,  and  some 
ready  for  publication.  These  they  have  been  under  the  necessity  of  suspend- 
ing, until  the  result  of  the  present  appeal  to  the  Members  of  the  Society  is  as- 
certained. And  they  have  been  further  compelled  to  take  the  still  more  serious 
step  of  discontinuing  their  engagements  with  Mr.  O'Donovan  and  Mr.  Curry, 
gentlemen  to  whose  indefatigable  exertions  and  extraordinary  acquirements  in 
Irish  literature  and  topography  the  Society  and  the  learned  world  are  already 
so  deeply  indebted. 

"  Unpromising  as  the  state  of  our  affairs  undoubtedly  is,  the  Council  are 
not  without  hope  that  the  very  statement  of  the  facts  may  have  the  effect  of 
calling  forth  the  exertions  of  the  friends  of  Irish  literature,  and  averting  the 
danger  which  threatens  the  very  existence  of  the  Society.  If  the  Members 
who  arc  in  arrear  would  promptly  pay  up  their  subscriptions,  all  the  existing 
difficulties  of  the  Society  would  be  removed,  and  the  Council  of  the  ensuing 
year  would  be  enabled  to  carry  on  their  labours  with  confidence  and  vigour. 

"  The  Council  beg  leave  to  recommend  to  the  Society  the  adoption  of  two 
or  three  changes  or  modifications  in  our  Fundamental  Laws,  which,  if  they  re- 
ceive your  approval,  may,  it  is  hoped,  bring  in  the  subscriptions,  and  promote 
the  general  working  of  the  Society. 

"  By  the  seventh  law  it  is  enacted,  that  '  Any  Member  who  shall  be  one 
year  in  arrear  shall  be  considered  as  having  resigned.'  Instead  of  these  words 
the  Council  would  propose  to  substitute  the  following :  '  Any  Member  who 
shall  be  one  year  in  arrear  of  his  subscription  shall  be  liable  to  be  removed  by 

the 


14 

the  Council  from  the  books  of  the  Society,  after  due  notice  served  upon  him 
to  that  effect.' 

"  The  Council  recommend  this  change,  because  many  Members  have  ex- 
cused themselves  from  replying  to  the  circulars,  and  other  notices  addressed  to 
them  by  the  Treasurer,  on  the  ground  that,  being  more  than  a  year  in  arrear, 
they  did  not  consider  themselves  as  any  longer  Members,  as  the  seventh  Fun- 
damental Law  declared  that  they  were  to  be  regarded  as  having  resigned.  It 
was  impossible,  however,  for  the  Council  to  act  generally  on  so  rigid  an  in- 
terpretation of  this  law,  as  they  would  thereby  not  only  run  the  risk  of  giving 
unnecessary  offence,  but  also,  in  some  instances,  deprive  the  Society  of  valuable 
and  zealous  Members,  whose  absence  from  the  country,  or  some  other  accidental 
circumstance,  had  caused  to  fall  into  arrear.  The  obvious  intention  of  the 
rule  was  merely  to  enable  the  Council  to  remove  from  the  Society's  books  the 
names  of  such  Members  as  had  ceased  to  take  an  interest  in  its  objects. 

"  The  Council  would  also  recommend  the  introduction  of  a  rule  which 
would  enable  them  to  nominate  Vice-Presidents,  who  shall  be  ex  officio  Mem- 
bers of  the  Council.  They  would  propose,  therefore,  to  alter  the  second  Fun- 
damental Law  to  the  following : 

o 

" '  The  affairs  of  the  Society  shall  be  managed  by  a  Council,  consisting  of 
a  President,  three  Vice-Presidents,  and  twelve  other  Members,  to  be  annually 
elected  by  the  Society.' 

"  The  Council  propose  this  alteration,  because  the  power  of  nominating 
Vice-Presidents  will  enable  the  Society  to  place  upon  the  Council  those  whose 
zeal  for  the  welfare  of  the  Society  has  entitled  them  to  that  distinction,  although 
their  rank  and  public  duties,  or  their  absence  from  Dublin,  render  it  impossible 
for  them  to  be  present  at  all  the  Meetings  of  the  Council. 

"  It  remains  now  to  give  some  account  of  what  has  been  done  in  reference 
to  the  publications  of  the  Society  since  our  last  annual  meeting.  In  the  Report 
then  laid  before  you  it  was  stated  that  the  funds  at  the  disposal  of  die  Council 
rendered  it  necessary  to  diminish  very  considerably  the  publications  issued  to 
Members  in  exchange  for  their  subscriptions.  It  was  proposed,  however,  to 
give  to  all  Members  who  had  subscribed  for  the  year  1847,  'The  Irish 
Version  of  the  Ilistoria  Britonum  of  Nennius,  with  a  Translation  and  Notes  by 
the  Secretary,  and  additional  Notes  and  an  Introduction  by  the  Hon.  Algernon 
Herbert.' 

"  This  work,  we  regret  to  say,  is  not  yet  completed,  although  it  is  far  ad- 
vanced. 


vanced.*  The  delay  has  been  occasioned  in  a  great  measure  by  the  necessity  of 
sending  each  proof  sheet,  for  Mr.  Herbert's  remarks  and  corrections,  to  England ; 
but  principally  by  the  discovery  of  a  most  interesting  ancient  historical  poem, 
which  was  necessary  to  the  illustration  of  the  work,  and  which  the  Editor  is 
now  adding  to  it  from  a  MS.  of  the  twelfth  century  in  the  Library  of  Trinity 
College,  Dublin. 

"  The  Council  will  not  anticipate  the  duty  of  the  Editor  by  describing  more 
particularly  the  nature  of  this  document,  or  the  reasons  which  have  induced 
them  to  delay  the  publication  for  the  sake  of  admitting  it.  They  feel  assured 
that  every  Member  of  the  Society  will  agree  with  them  in  thinking  that  it  was 
better  to  incur  the  delay  than  to  bring  out  the  work  in  a  less  perfect  form ;  they 
have  little  doubt  that  the  Historia  of  Nennius  in  its  Irish  dress,  with  the  curious 
illustrations  of  British,  Scottish,  and  Welsh  history  with  which  it  is  accompanied, 
will  be  received  by  the  learned  world  as  a  valuable  addition  to  the  sources  of 
British  history. 

"  The  disappointments  experienced  by  the  Council  from  the  circumstances 
already  referred  to,  render  it  impossible  for  them  to  say  much  on  the  subject  of 
future  publications.  For  an  account  of  the  works  already  undertaken,  and 
partly  in  progress,  they  have  nothing  to  add  to  what  was  said  in  the  Report 
presented  to  the  Society  last  year.  They  may  add,  however,  that  the  Macariui 
Excidium,  or  Destruction  of  Cyprus,  by  Colonel  Charles  O'Kelly,  is  now  com- 
pleted, and  ready  for  the  press,  and  as  soon  as  the  funds  at  the  disposal  of  the 
Council  enable  them  to  do  so,  it  shall  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  printer.  If 
any  considerable  portion  of  the  arrears  due  to  the  Society  should  be  collected, 
the  Council  would  propose  to  give  this  work  as  the  Society's  publication  for  the 
year  1848. 

"  The  Council  have  received  from  Mr.  Shirley,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Graves  of 
Kilkenny,  Mr.  O'Donovan,  and  other  friends,  some  valuable  contributions  to  the 
second  volume  of  the  Irish  Archaeological  Miscellany ;  and  they  are  in  u  con- 
dition, if  funds  permit,  to  bring  out  a  fasciculus  at  least  of  this  work  during  the 
ensuing  year. 

"  Since  the  last  meeting  of  the  Society  Mr.  Reeves  has  published  his  Eccle- 
siastical 

*  The  volume  has  been  completed  since  the  Annual  Meeting  was  held,  and  is  now 
in  course  of  distribution  to  the  Members. 


i6 

siastical  Taxation  of  the  Dioceses  of  Down  and  Connor  and  Dromore,  in  a  form 
exactly  similar  to  the  publications  of  this  Society.  This  may  be  hailed  as  a  sa- 
tisfactory proof  that  the  labours  of  the  Society  have  excited  in  others,  and  in  the 
public  at  large,  a  thirst  for  sound  historical  and  topographical  information.  Mr. 
Reeves,  it  will  be  recollected,  has  undertaken  to  edit  for  the  Society  the  whole  of 
the  important  document,  of  which  he  has  already  brought  out  a  part  in  the  volume 
alluded  to.  We  have  no  hope  that  the  Society's  funds  will  enable  the  Council 
to  undertake  this  work  for  some  time  to  come  ;  but  it  may,  perhaps,  be  interest- 
ing to  the  Society  to  have  on  record  the  following  account  of  his  intended 
labours,  with  which  Mr.  Reeves  has  kindly  furnished  the  Council : 

"  'Ecclesiastical  Taxation  of  Ireland,  A.  D.  1306.  Edited  from  the  original  Exclie- 
ijuer  Rolls,  London.  By  the  Rev.  WILLIAM  REEVES,  M.  B.,  M.  R.  I.  A.,  &c. 

"  '  This  Record  notices  all  the  dioceses  of  Ireland,  and  the  several  churches 
contained  in  them,  arranged  under  rural  deaneries,  except  the  dioceses  of  Ferns, 
Ossory,  and  the  upper  part  of  Armagh.  The  deficiency,  however,  as  far  as 
regards  Ossory,  may  be  fully  supplied  from  the  Red  Book  of  Ossory,  in  which 
are  two  taxations  of  the  diocese,  anterior  to  1320.  In  the  Registry  of  Primate 
Sweteman  is  contained  a  catalogue  of  the  churches  in  the  upper  or  county  of 
Louth  part  of  Armagh,  of  about  the  same  date.  So  that  Ferns  is  the  only  hiatus, 
for  the  repair  of  which  there  are  no  available  materials. 

" '  Though  the  recital  extends  only  to  the  names  and  incomes  of  the  benefices, 
so  that  the  notice  of  each  occupies  but  a  single  line,  the  bare  text  would  fill  a 
volume  nearly  as  large  as  any  of  those  yet  published  by  the  Society.  It  is 
therefore  proposed  that  the  work  should  appear  in  lour  parts,  containing  seve- 
rally an  ecclesiastical  province,  with  brief  notes,  identifying  each  name  with 
the  corresponding  modern  one  on  the  Ordnance  Map,  and  noticing  such  autho- 
rities as  illustrate  the  ancient  history  and  modern  condition  of  the  churches. 

"  '  This  arrangement  will  enable  the  Editor  to  put  to  press  the  first  part, 
which  is  the  province  of  Armagh,  as  soon  as  the  Council  think  fit  ;  and  at  the 
same  time  avoid  the  inconvenience  of  swelling  a  single  volume  to  such  a  size  as 
to  be  unwieldy,  or  to  monopolize  the  resources  of  the  Society. 

"  '  WILLIAM  REEVES. 
"  '  Dec.  16,  1847.'  " 

The 


'7 

The  Eeport  having  been  read,  it  was  moved  by  the  Rev. 
Richard  Mac  Donnell,  D.  D.,  Senior  Fellow  of  Trinity  College, 
Dublin,  and 

"  RESOLVED, — That  the  Report  now  read  be  received  and  printed,  and  cir- 
culated amongst  the  Members  of  the  Society." 

Moved  by  the  Very  Rev.  L.  F.  Renehan,  D.  D.,  President  of  the 
Royal  College  of  St.  Patrick,  Maynooth,  and 

"  RESOLVED, — That  Sir  Colman  O'Loglilen  and  Mr.  O'Donoghue  be  ap- 
pointed Auditors  for  the  ensuing  year,  and  that  the  statement  of  the  accounts  of 
the  Society  be  printed  with  the  Report." 

Moved  by  the  Rev.  James  Wilson,  U.  D.,  Precentor  of  St.  Pa- 
trick's Cathedral,  Dublin,  and 

"RESOLVED,— That,  in  accordance  with  the  recommendation  of  the  Council, 
the  following  words  in  the  7th  Fundamendal  Law, — '  Any  Member  who  shall 
be  one  year  in  arrcar  of  his  subscription  shall  be  considered  as  having  resigned,' — 
be  omitted ;  and  that  the  following  words  be  substituted  instead  thereof:  '  Any 
Member  who  shall  be  one  year  in  arrear  of  his  subscription  shall  be  liable  to  be 
removed  by  the  Council  from  the  books  of  the  Society,  after  due  notice  served 
upon  him  to  that  effect.'  " 

Moved  by  George  Petrie,  Esq.,  LL.D.,  V.  P.  R.  I.  A,  and 
"  RESOLVED, — That,  in  accordance  with  the  recommendation  of  the  Council, 
the  and  Fundamental  Law  be  altered  to  the  following:  '  The  affairs  of  the  So- 
ciety shall  be  managed  by  a  Council  consisting  of  a  President,  three  Vice-Pre- 
sidents,  and  twelve  other  Members,  to  be  annually  elected  by  the  Society.'  " 

Moved  by  the  Rev.  Charles  Russell,  D.  D.,  Professor  of  Eccle- 
siastical History  in  the  Royal  College  of  St.  Patrick,  Maynooth, 
and 

"  RESOLVED, — That  His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Leinster  be  elected  President 
of  the  Society  for  the  following  year  :  that  the  Most  Noble  the  Marquis  of 
Kildare,  the  Right  Hon.  the  Earl  of  Lcitrim,  and  the  Right  Hon.  the  Viscount 

c  Adare 


i8 


Adarc,  be  the  Vice- Presidents  of  the  Society ;  and  that  the  following  be  elected 
on  the  Council : 


REV.  SAM.  BUTCHER,  A.M.,  F.T.C.D., 

M.R.I.A. 
REV.  CHAS.  GRAVES,  A.M.,  F.T.C.D., 

M.R.I.  A. 

JAMES  HARDIMAN,  ESQ.,  M.  R.  I.  A. 
W.  E.  HUDSON,  ESQ.,  M.R.I.  A. 
THOMAS    A.    LARCOM,    ESQ.,    R.  E., 

V.  P.  R.  I.  A. 
CHARLES  MACDONNELL,  EsQ.,M.R.I.A. 


GEO.  PETRIE,  ESQ.,  LL.D.,  V.P.R.I.A. 
REV.  WM.  REEVES,  M.  B.,  M.  R.  I.  A. 
The  Very  REV.  L.  F.  RENEHAN,  D.D., 

President  of  Maynooth  College. 
AQUILLA  SMITH,  ESQ.,  M.D.,  M.R.I.A. 
JOSEPH  HUBAND  SMITH,  ESQ.,  M.  A., 

M.  R.  I.  A. 
REV.  J.  H.  TODD,  D.  D.,  F.  T.  C.  D., 

M.  R.  I.  A." 


Moved  by  John  C.  O'Callaghan,  Esq.,  and 

"  RESOLVED, — That  the  thanks  of  the  Society  be  voted  to  the  President  and 
Council  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  for  their  kindness  in  granting  the  use  of 
their  room  for  this  meeting." 

Moved  by  Sir  Colman  M.  O'Loghlen,  Bart.,  and 

"  RESOLVED, — That  the  thanks  of  the  Society  be  voted  to  His  Grace  the 
Duke  of'Leinster,  for  his  kindness  in  accepting  the  office  of  President  of  the 
Society,  and  for  his  conduct  in  the  Chair  on  this  occasion." 


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IRISH    ARCHAEOLOGICAL    SOCIETY. 

1847-1848. 


patron  : 

HIS  ROYAL  HIGHNESS  THE  PRINCE  ALBERT. 


HIS  GRACE  THE  DUKE  OF  LEINSTER. 

Fice^rcsfocnts  : 

THE  MOST  NOBLE  THE  MARQUIS  OF  KILDARE,  M.  P.,  M.  R.  I.  A. 

THE  RIGHT  HON.  THE  EARL  OF  LEITRIM,  M.  R.  I.  A. 

THE  RIGHT  HON.  THE  VISCOUNT  ADARE,  M.  P.,  M.  R.  I.  A. 


(Council : 

REV.  SAMUEL  BUTCHER,  A.  M.,M.  R.  I.  A. 
REV.  CHARLES  GRAVES,  A.  M.,  M.  R.I.  A. 
JAMES  HARUIMAN,  ESQ  ,  M.  R.  I.  A. 
WILLIAM  ELLIOT  HUDSON,  ESQ.,  M.R.I.A. 
MAJOR  T.  A.  LARCOM,  R.  E.,  V.P.R.I.  A. 
CHARLES  MAC  DONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.R.I.A. 
GEORGE  PETRIE,  ESQ.,  LL.  I).,  R.  II.  A., 
V.  P.  R.  I.  A. 


REV.  WILLIAM  REEVES,  M.  B.,  M.  R.  I.  A. 

Very  REV.  DR.  RENEHAN,  President  of  St. 
Patrick's  College,  Maynooth. 

AQUILLA  SMITH,  ESQ.,  M.  D.,  M.  R.  I.  A., 
Treasurer. 

J.  HUBAND  SMITH,  ESQ.,  A.  M.,  M.R.I.A. 

REV.  J.  H.  TODD,  D.  D.,  M.  R.  I.  A.,  Se- 
cretary. 


JJUmbers  of 

[Life  Members  are  marked  thus  *.] 


"His  Royal  Highness  THE  PRINCE  ALBERT. 
His  Excellency  THE   EARL  OF   CLARENDON, 

LORD  LIEUTENANT  OF  IRELAND. 
His  Grace  the  LORD  PRIMATE  OF  IRELAND. 
'His  Grace  the  DUKE  OF  BUCKINGHAM  and 

CHANDOS. 
"His  Grace  the  DUKE  of  LEINSTER. 


'The  MARQUIS  of  DROGHEIM. 

•The  MARQUIS  of  KILDARE,  M.P..M.  R.  I.  A. 

'The  MARQUIS  of  LANSDOWNE. 

The  MARQUIS  of  ORMONDE. 

The  MARQUIS  of  SLIGO. 

'The  MARQUIS  of  WATERFORD. 

The  EARL  of  BANDON. 

The 


21 


The  EARL  of  BECTIVE. 

The  EARL  of  CARLISLE. 

The  EARL  of  CAWDOR. 

The  EARL  of  CHARLEMONT,  M.  R.  I.  A. 

The  EARL  of  CLANCARTY. 

*The  EARL  DE  GREY. 

The  EARL  of  DEVON. 

The  EARL  of  DONOUGHMORE. 

The  EARL  of  DUNRAVEN,  M.  R.  I.  A. 

The  EARL  of  ENNISKILLEN. 

The  EARL  FITZWILLIAM. 

The  EARL  FOHTESCUE. 

The  EARL  of  GLENGALL. 

The  EARL  of  LEITRIM,  M.  R.  I.  A. 

The  EARL  of  MEATH. 

The  EARL  of  PORTARLINGTON. 

*The  EARL  of  Powis. 

The  EARL  of  RODEN. 

The  EARL  of  ROSSE,  M.  R.  I.  A. 

The  EARL  of  SHREWSBURY. 

The  EARL  of  ST.  GERMANS. 

The  VISCOUNT  ACHESON,  M.  P. 

The  VISCOUNT  ADARE,  M.  P.,  M.  R.  I.  A. 

The  VISCOUNT  COURTENAY,  M.  P. 

The  VISCOUNT  DE  VESCI. 

The  VISCOUNT  LISMORE. 


Rev.  Edward  S.  Abbott,  Upper  Mount-street, 
Dublin. 

Abraham  Abell,  Esq.,  M.  R.  I.  A.,  Cork. 

"Sir  Robert  Shafto  Adair,  Bart.,  Ballymena. 

Miss  M.  J.  Alexander,  Dublin. 

Robert  M.  Alloway,  Esq.,  Abbeyville,  Boot- 
erstown. 

William  Antisell,  Esq.,  Ballyowen  Cottage, 
Philipstown. 

Rev.  George  F.  A.  Armstrong,  A.B. 

Rev.  John  H.  Armstrong,  A.  B.,  Herbert- 
place,  Dublin. 

George  Atkinson,  Esq.,  A.  M.,  M.  B.,  Upper 
Temple-street,  Dublin. 


The  VISCOUNT  LORTON. 

The  VISCOUNT  MASSAREENE. 

The  VISCOUNT  MORPETH. 

The  VISCOUNT  O'NEILL. 

"The  VISCOUNT  PALMERSTON. 

The  VISCOUNT  SUIRDALE. 

The  LORD  BISHOP  of  CASHEL,  EMLY,   WA- 

TERFORD,  and  LISMORE. 
The  LORD  BISHOP  of  CHICHESTER. 
The  LORD  BISHOP  of  CORK,    CLOYNE,    and 

Ross. 
The  HON.  the  LORD  BISHOP  of  DERKY  and 

RAPHOE. 
The  LORD  BISHOP  of  DOWN  and   CONNOR, 

and  DROMORE. 
The  LORD  BISHOP  of  KILMORE,  ELPHIN,  and 

ARDAGH. 

*LoRD  CLONBROCK. 
LORD  ALBERT  CONYNGHAM. 
LORD  CREMORNE. 
LORD  FARNHAM. 
LORD  HEYTESBURY. 
LORD  GEORGE  HILL,  M.  R.  I.  A. 
LORD  MANNERS. 
LORD  ROSSMORE,  M.  R.  I.  A. 
LORD  TALBOT  DE  MALAHIDE. 


Rev.  James  Kennedy  Bailie,  D.  D.,  M.R.I.  A. 
Ardtrea  House,  Stewartstown. 

Abraham   Whyte  Baker,  Esq.,  Blessington- 
street,  Dublin. 

James  B.  Ball,  Esq.,    Merrion-square,   East, 
Dublin. 

Sir  Matthew  Barrington,  Bart.,  M.  R.  I.  A., 
St.  Stephen's-green,  Dublin. 

Hugh  Barton,  Jun.,  Esq.,  Regent-st.,  London. 

Miss  Beaufort,  Hatch-street,  Dublin. 

Sir  Michael   Dillon    Bellew,    Bart.,  Mount- 
Dillon,  Galway. 

Samuel  Henry  Bindon,  Esq.,  Great  Bruns- 
wick-street, Dublin. 

Lieutenant- 


22 


Lieutenant-General  Robert  H.  Birch,  Leeson- 

street,  Dublin. 

John  Blachford,  Esq.,    Bucklersbury,  Lon- 
don. 
The  Rev.  Beaver  H.  Blacker,  A.  M.,  Airfield, 

Donnybrook. 
The  Right  Hon.    Anthony  Richard   Blake, 

St.  Stephen's  Green  Club,  Dublin. 
Loftus  H.   Bland,  Esq.,  Upper  Filzwilliam- 

street,  Dublin. 
Bindon  Blood,  Esq.,  M.  R.  I.  A.,  F.  R.  S.  E., 

Ennis. 

Sir  John  P.  Boileau,  Bart.,  London. 
Walter  M.  Bond,  Esq.,  The  Argory,  Moy. 
•Beriah  Botfield,  Esq.,  M.  R.  I.  A.,  London. 
W.  H.  Bradshaw,  Esq.,  Dysart  House,  Car- 

rick-on-Suir. 
Kight  Hon.  Maziere  Brady,  Lord  Chancellor 

of  Ireland,  M.  R.  I.  A. 
Thomas  Brodigan,  Esq.,  Pilton  House,  Dro- 

gheda. 
William  Brooke,  Esq.,  Q.  C.,  Leeson-street, 

Dublin. 
John  \V.  Browne,  Esq.,  Upper  Mount-street, 

Dublin. 
*R.   Clayton  Browne,   Esq.,  Browne's  Hill, 

Carlow. 
Haliduy  Bruce,  Esq.,  M.  R.  I.  A.,   Dame-st., 

Dublin. 
Colonel    Henry   Bruen,   M.  P.,    Oak  Park, 

Carlow. 

Samuel  Bryson,  Esq.,  High-street,  Belfast. 
The  Chevalier  Bunsen,  London. 
John  Ynyr  Burges,   Esq.,   Parkanaur,  Dun- 

gannon. 

Joseph    Burke,    Esq.,    Elm    Hall,    Parsons- 
town. 

John  Burrowes,  Esq.,   Herbert-st.,  Dublin. 
Robert  Burrowes,  Esq.,  Merrion-square,  N., 

Dublin. 


Rev.   Samuel   Butcher,  A  M.,   M.  R.  I.  A., 
Fellow  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin. 

The  Very  Rev.  R.  Butler,  A.  B.,  M.R.  I.  A., 
Dean  of  Clonmacnoise,  Trim. 

'William  E.  Caldbeck,  Esq.,  Kilmastiogue. 

'Robert  Callwell,  Esq.,  M.  R.  I.  A.,  Herbert- 
place,  Dublin. 

Edward   Cane,  Esq.,    M.  R.  I.  A.,  Dawson- 
street,  Dublin. 

George  Carr,   Esq.,  M.  R.  I.  A.,   Mountjoy- 
square,  S.,  Dublin. 

•Rev.  Joseph    Carson,   B.  D.,    M.  R.  I.  A., 
Fellow  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin. 

Rev.  William  Carus,  A.  M.,   Fellow  of  Tri- 
nity College,  Cambridge. 

Thomas    Cather,    Esq.,     Blessington-street, 
Dublin. 

•Patrick  Chalmers,  Esq.,  Auldbar,  Brechin, 
N.  B. 

John  David  Chambers,  Esq.,  London. 

William  Chambers,  Esq.,  High-street,  Edin- 
burgh. 

George  Chamley,  Esq.,  Gaybrook, Malahide. 

Sir  Montagu  L.  Chapman,  Bart.,  M.R.I.  A., 
Killua  Castle,  Clonmellon. 

Edward  Wilmot  Chetwode,  Esq.,  M.R.I.A., 
Woodbrook,  Portarlington. 

Thomas  Clarke,   Esq.,   Baggot-street,  Dub- 
lin. 

Rev.  William  Cleaver,  A.  M.,  Delgany. 

James    Stratherne   Close,  Esq.,   Gardiner's- 
row,  Dublin. 

Rev.  Thomas  De  Vere  Coneys,  A.  M.,  Pro- 
fessor of  Irish  in  the  University  of  Dublin. 

Frederick    W.    Conway,    Esq.,    M.R.  I.  A., 
Terrace  Lodge,  Rathmines  Road,  Dublin. 

Adolphus  Cooke,  Esq.,  Cookesborough,  Mul- 
lingar. 

James    R.   Cooke,   Esq.,    Blessington-street, 
Dublin. 

Philip 


Philip  Davies  Cooke,  Esq.,  Ouston,  Doncas- 
ter. 

Rev.  Peter  Cooper,  Marlborough-street, 
Dublin. 

Sir  Charles  Coote,  Bart.,  Ballyfin  House, 
Mountrath. 

William  Coppinger,  Esq.,  Barryscourt,  Cork. 

•Rev.  George  E.  Corrie,  B.D.,  Fellow  of 
St.  Catherine's  Hall,  Cambridge. 

The  Yen.  Henry  Cotton,  D.  C.  L.,  Archdea- 
con of  Cashel. 

Rev.  George  Edmond  Cotter,  Glenview, 
Middleton. 

James  T.  Gibson  Craig,  Esq.,  Edinburgh. 

Michael  Creagh,  Esq.,  Upper  Gloucester- 
street,  Dublin. 

Rev.  George  Crolly,  Professor  of  Theology, 
St.  Patrick's  College,  Maynooth. 

Rev.  John  C.  Crosthwaite,  A.  M.,  The  Rec- 
tory, St.  Mary-at-Hill,  London. 

Rev.  William  M.  Crosthwaite,  A.  M.,  Dur- 
rus,  Bantry. 

Rev.  Edward  Cupples,  LL.  B.,  V.G.  of  Down 
and  Connor,  Lisburn. 

Miss  J.  M.  Richardson  Currer,  Eshton  Hall, 
Yorkshire. 

Francis  E.  Currey,  Esq.,  Lismore  Castle, 
Lismore. 

'Eugene  Curry,  Esq.,  Portland-street,  North, 
Dublin. 

•James  W.  Cusack,  Esq.,  M.D.,  M.R.  I.  A., 
Kildare-street,  Dublin. 

'The  Rev.  Edward  Fitzgerald  Day,  Home, 
Cabinteely. 

Quentin  Dick,  Esq.,  London. 

*F.  H.  Dickinson,  Esq.,  Kingweston,  Somer- 
setshire. 

C.  Wentworth  Dilke,  Esq.,  London. 

Rev.  Robert  Vickers  Dixon,  A.M.,M.R.I.A., 
Fellow  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin. 


j  Thomas  Dobbin,  Esq.,  Armagh. 
Joseph   Dobbs,    Esq.,    Clanbrassil   Terrace, 

Dublin. 
William  C.  Dobbs,  Esq.,  Fitzwilliam-place, 

Dublin. 

'William  Donnelly,  Esq.,  LL.D.,  Registrar- 
General,  Auburn,  Malahide. 
Rickard  Donovan,  Esq.,  Crown  Office,  Cork, 
Peter  Dowdall,  Esq.,  Summer-hill,  Dublin. 
Charles  Druitt,  Esq.,  Lima. 
William  V.  Drury,  Esq.,  M.  D.,  M.  R.  I.  A., 

Lower  Merrion-street,  Dublin. 
Charles   Gavan    Duffy,   Esq.,    Holme  Ville, 

Rathmines,  Dublin. 
Major  Francis  Dunne,  M.  P.,  Brittas,  Mount- 

mellick. 

Rev.  John  Dunne,  Professor  of  Logic,  Car- 
low  College. 
Rev.  Charles  R.  Elrington,  D.  D.,  M.R.I.  A., 

Regius  Professor  of  Divinity,  Trin.  Coll., 

Dublin. 

John  Edward  Errington,  Esq.,  C.E.,  London. 
Right    Hon.   Sir   Thomas   Esmonde,    Bart., 

Ballynastra,  Gorey. 
Robert  Ewing,  Esq.,  Greenock. 
*J.    Walter   K.    Eyton,    Esq.,    Elgin   Villa, 

Leamington, 
M.  Le  Comte  O'Kelly  Farrell,  Chateau  de  la 

Mothe,  Landon,  Bourdeaux. 
Rev.  Thomas  Farrelk,  St.  Patrick's  College, 

Maynooth. 

Samuel  Graeme  Fenton,  Esq.,  Belfast. 
Sir  Robert  Ferguson,  Bart.,  M.  P.,  Derry. 
Clement  Ferguson,    Esq.,   Lower   Ornionil- 

quay,  Dublin. 

John  Ferguson,  Esq.,  Castle  Forward,  Derry. 
!  'Edward  Fitzgerald,  Esq.,  Carrigoran,  New- 

market-on-Fergus. 
John  D.    Fitzgerald,  Esq.,   Merrion-square, 

West,  Dublin. 

Rev. 


Rev.  Joseph  Fitzgerald,  M.  R.  I.  A.,   P.  P. 

'     Rahan,  Tullamore. 

Patrick  Vincent  Fitzpatrick,  Esq.,  Eccles- 
street,  Dublin. 

John  Flanady,  Esq.,  Dublin. 

Rev.  Matthew  Flanagan,  Francis-street,  Dub- 
lin. 

Thomas  Fortescue,  Esq.,  M.  R.  I.  A.,  Ra- 
vensdale  Park,  Flurrybridge. 

Rev.  Smyth  W.  Fox,  Richview,  Rathmines, 
Dublin. 

John  French,  Esq.,  Stockwell  Place,  Surrey. 

Robert  French,  Esq.,  Fitzwilliam-square, 
East,  Dublin. 

Allan  Fullarton,  Esq.,  Westbank,  Greenock. 

John  A.  Fullerton,  Esq.,  Edinburgh. 

Alfred  Furlong,  Esq.,  Newcastle,  County 
Limerick. 

Rev.  Robert  Gage,  A.  M.,  Rathlin  Island, 
Ballycastle. 

Edmund  Getty,  Esq.,  Victoria-place,  Bel- 
fast. 

Rev.  Richard  Gibbings,  A.  M.,  Myragh 
Glebe,  Dunfanaghy. 

Michael  Henry  Gill,  Esq.,  Great  Brunswick- 
street,  Dublin, 

Rev.  William  S.  Gilly,  D.  D.,  Norham  Vica- 
rage, Berwick-on-Tweed. 

The  Knight  of  Glin,  Glin  Castle,  Glin. 

'John  Graham,  Esq.,  Craigallian. 

George  B.  Grant,  Esq.,  Grafton-street,  Dub- 
lin. 

*Rev.  Charles  Graves,  A.  M.,  M.  R.  I.  A., 
Fellow  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin. 

Robert  Graves,  Esq.,  M.  D.,  M.  R.  I.  A., 
Merrion-square,  S.,  Dublin. 

Rev.  James  Graves,  A.  B.,   Kilkenny. 

John  Gray,  Esq.,  Greenock. 

John  Gray,  Esq.,  M.  D.,  Upper  Bucking- 
ham-street, Dublin. 


Rev.  John  Greham,  LL.D.,  Portora  House, 
Enniskillen. 

John  Grene,  Esq.,  Clonliffe. 

James  Sullivan  Green,  Esq.,  Lower  Pem- 
broke-street, Dublin. 

!  'Richard  Griffith,    Esq.,   M.  R.  I.  A.,  Fitz- 
william- place,  Dublin. 

Rev.  Charles  Grogan,  Harcourt-st.,  Dublin. 

John  Gumley,  Esq.,  LL.  D.,  St  Stephen's- 
green,  Dublin. 

James  Haire,  Esq.,  Summer-hill,  Dublin. 

Sir  Benjamin  Hall,  Bart.,  M.  P.,  Portman- 
square,  London. 

Right  Rev.  Francis  Haly,  D.  D.,  R.  C.  Bi- 
shop of  Kildare  and  Leighlin,  Braganza 
House,  Carlow. 

George  Alexander  Hamilton,  Esq.,  M.  P., 
Hampton  Hall,  Balbriggan. 

James  Hamilton,  Esq.,  Fintra  House,  Killy- 
begs. 

Rev.  James  Hamilton,  Professor  of  Natural 
Philosophy,  St.  Patrick's  College,  Carlow. 

Sir  Wm.  R.  Hamilton,  LL.D.,  V.P.R.I.A., 
Observatory,  Dunsink. 

James  Hardiman,  Esq.,  M.  R.  I.  A.,  Galway. 

Leonard  S.  Hartley,  Esq.,  Middleton  Lodge, 
Richmond,  Yorkshire. 

Rev.  Daniel  Hearne,  St.  Patrick's,  Manches- 
ter. 

Hon.  Algernon  Herbert,  Ickleton,  Saffron- 
Walden. 

'Right  Hon.  Sidney  Herbert,  M.P.,  London. 

John  E.  Herrick,  Esq.,  Lower  Baggot-street, 
Dublin. 

Thomas  Hewitt,  Esq.,  Spencer's  Library, 
London. 

William  Henry  Holbrook,  Esq.,  Leeson- 
street,  Dublin. 

Sir  W.  Jackson  Homan,  Bart.,  Drumroe, 
Cappoquin. 


25 


*A.  J.  Beresford  Hope,  Esq.,  M.P.,  Lamber- 
hurst. 

*Sir  Francis  Hopkins,  Bart,  Rochfort,  Mul- 
lingar. 

Herbert  F.  Hore,  Esq.,  Pole  Hore,  Kyle, 
Wexfbrd. 

The  Very  Rev.  Edward  Gustavus  Hudson, 
Dean  of  Armagh,  Glenville,  Watergrass- 
hill. 

William  E.  Hudson,  Esq.,  M.  R.  I.  A.,  Up- 
per Fitzwilliam-street,  Dublin. 

James  S.  Hamilton  Humphreys,  Esq., London. 

Thomas  Hutton,  Esq.,  M.  R.  I.  A,  Summer- 
hill,  Dublin. 

John  Hyde,  Esq.,  Castle  Hyde,  Fermoy. 

Sir  Robert  H.  Inglis,  Baronet,  M.  P.,  Lon- 
don. 

*Rev.  James  Ingram,  D.  D.,  President  of 
Trinity  College,  Oxford. 

Rev.  John  H.  Jellett,  A.  M.,  M.  R.  I.  A., 
Fellow  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin. 

Mrs.  Margaret  Jones,  Kilwaughter  Castle, 
Larne. 

•Robert  Jones,  Esq.,  M.R.I.  A.,  Portland, 
Dromore  West. 

'William  Bence  Jones,  Esq.,  M.  R.  I.  A., 
Kilgariffe,  Clonakilty. 

Sir  Robert  Kane,  M.  D.,  M.  R.  I.  A.,  Grace- 
field,  Booterstown. 

William  Kane,  Esq.,  Gloucester-st.,  Dublin. 

Denis  Henry  Kelly,  Esq.,M.  R.  I.  A.,  Castle 
Kelly,  Mount  Talbot. 

Rev.  Matthew  Kelly,  St.  Patrick's  College, 
Maynooth. 

Henry  Kemmis,  Esq.,  Q.  C.,  Merrion-square, 
East,  Dublin. 

Rev.  John  Kenny,  Kilrush. 

James  Kernan,  Esq.,  Up.  Dorset-st.,  Dublin. 

The  Right  Honourable  the  Knight  of  Kerry, 
M.  R.  I.  A.,  Listowell. 


Thomas  Kippax  King,  Esq.,  London. 

Rev.  Henry  Barry  Knox,  M.  R.  I.  A.,  Had- 
leigh,  Suffolk. 

George  J.  Knox,  Esq.,  M.  R.  I.  A.,  Maddox- 
street,  London. 

Rev.  John  Torrens  Kyle,  A.  M.,  Clondrohid, 
Macroom. 

"The  Right  Hon.  Henry  Lahouchere,  M.  P., 
Belgrave-square,  London. 

David  Laing,  Esq.,  Signet  Library,  Edin- 
burgh. 

Alexander  C.  Lambert,  Esq.,  Ballinrobe. 

Henry  Lanauze,  Esq.,  Dublin. 

Denny  Lane,  Esq.,  Sydney-place,  Cork. 

•Major  T.  A.  Larcom,  R.  E.,  V.  P.  R.  I.  A., 
Dublin. 

'Walter  Lawrence,  Jun.,  Esq.,  Capt.  41st 
Welch  Regt.,  Lisreaghane,  Lawrencetown, 
Co.  Galway. 

Rev.  William  Lee,  A.  M.,  M.  R.  I.  A.,  Fellow 
of  Trinity  College,  Dublin. 

Robert  Leeson,  Esq.,  Florence. 

The  Right  Hon.  Baron  Lefroy,  Leeson-street, 
Dublin. 

Charles  Lever,  Esq. 

Charles  W.  Levinge,  Esq.,  Levington  Park, 
Mullingar. 

'Frederick  Lindesay,  Esq.,  Mountjoy-square, 
West,  Dublin. 

John  Lindsay,  Esq.,  Maryville,  Blackrock, 
Cork. 

Rev.  John  Lingard,  D.  D.,  Hornby,  Lan- 
caster. 

Rev.  Humphrey  Lloyd,  D.  D.,  P.  R.  I.  A., 
Senior  Fellow  of  Trinity  College,  Dub- 
lin. 

'William  Horton  Lloyd,  Esq.,  Park-square, 
Regent's-park,  London. 

Rev.  Richard  H.  Low,  Lowville,  Ahascragh. 

Joseph  Lowell,  Esq.,  London. 

Hugh 


26 


Hugh  Lyle,  Esq.,  Carnagaive,  Moville,  Do- 
negal. 

Robert  Mac  Adam,  Esq.,  Belfast. 

*D.  Mac  Carthy,  Esq.,  Florence. 

The  Rev.  Daniel  M'Carthy,  Professor  of 
Rhetoric,  St.  Patrick's  College,  Maynooth. 

Rev.  Charles  M'Crossan,  Drumquin,  Omagh. 

William  Torrens  M'Cullagh,  Esq.,  M.  P., 
M.R.I. A.,  Dublin. 

G.  A.  M'Dermott,  Esq.,  F.  G.  S.,  Chester, 
ton  Hall,  Newcastle-under-Line. 

Alexander  M'Donnell,  Esq.,  Marlborough- 
street,  Dublin. 

Charles  P.  Mac  Donnell,  Esq.,  M.  R.  I.  A., 
Bonabrougha  House,  Wicklow. 

Edmund  Mac  Donnell,  Esq.,  Glenarm  Castle, 
Glenarm. 

•Rev.  Richard  Mac  Donnell,  D.D.,  M.R.I. A., 
Senior  Fellow  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin. 

George  M'Dowell,  Esq.,  A.  M.,  M.  R.  I.  A. 
Fellow  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin. 

The  Right  Rev.  Patrick  M'Gettigan,  D.  D., 
R.  C.  Bishop  of  Derry,  Letterkenny. 

M'Gilliouddy  of  the  Reeks. 

James  M'Glashan,  Esq.,  D'OIier-street,  Dub- 
lin. 

Most  Rev.  John  Mac  Hale,  D.  D.,  St.  Jar- 
lath's,  Tuam. 

Rev.  John  M'Hugh,  Baldoyle. 

John  W.  M'Kenzie,  Esq.,  Edinburgh. 

Most  Rev.  Dr.  MacNally,  R.  C.  Bishop  of 
Clogher,  Clogher. 

Thomas  Mac  Owen,  Esq.,  Middloton,  Artane. 

Sir  Frederick  Madden,  Hon.  M.  R.I.  A., 
British  Museum. 

James  Magee,  Esq.,  Leeson-street.  Dublin. 

Pierce  Mahony,  Esq.,  M.  R.  I.  A.,  William- 
street,  Dublin. 

Rev.  Samuel  R.  Maitland,  D.  D.,  F.  R.  S., 
F.  A.  S.,  London. 


Andrew  John  Maley,  Esq.,  Merrion-square, 
South,  Dublin. 

John  Malone,  Esq.,  Rathlaslin,  Ballynacargy. 

Henry  Martley,  Esq.,  Q.  C.,  Harcourt-street, 
Dublin. 

Rev.  George  Maxwell,  Askeaton. 

Hon.  Gen.  Meade,  Bryanston-square,  London. 

*Andrew  Milliken,  Esq.,  Dublin. 

Daniel  Molloy,  Esq.,  York-street,  Dublin. 

Richard  Monck,  Esq.,  Banagher. 

Rev.  Charles  H.  Monsell,  A.  M. 

William  Monsell,  Esq.,   M.  P.,   M.  R.I.  A., 
Tervoe,  Limerick. 

Rev.  Philip  Moore,  Rosbercon. 

Robert  Ogilby  Moore,  Esq.,  London. 

Thomas  Moore,  Esq.,  Sloperton,  Devizes. 

John  Shank  More,  Esq.,  Great  King-street, 
Edinburgh. 

'Andrew   Mulholland,  Esq.,  Mount  Collyer, 
Belfast. 

Sinclaire  Kilbourne  Mulholland,  Esq.,  Eglon- 
tine,  Hillsborough. 

Joseph  William  Murphy,  Esq.,  Belfast. 

'Joseph   Neeld,  Esq.,  M.  P.,  Grosvenor-sq. , 
London. 

The  Very  Rev.  Dean  Nolan,  P.  P.,  Gowran. 

William  Nugent,  Esq.,  Killester  Abbey,  Ra- 
il eny. 

James  L.  O'Beirne,  Esq.,  Lower   Gardiner- 
street,  Dublin. 

Cornelius  O'Brien,  Esq.,  Ennistimon. 

Francis  O'Brien,  Esq.,  Thurles. 

Sir  Lucius  O  Brien,  Bart.,  M.  P.,  Dromo- 
land,  Newmarket-on- Fergus. 

William   Smith   O'Brien,   Esq.,   M.  P.,   Ca- 
hermoyle,  Rathkeale. 

The  Very  Rev.  Dominick  O'Brien,   Water- 
ford. 

John  Cornelius  O'Callaghan,  Esq.,   Russell- 
place,  Dublin. 

John 


John   O'Connell,  Esq.,   M.  P.,  Gowran-hill, 
Dalkey. 

Denis  O'Connor,  Esq.,  Mount  Druid,  Bele- 
nagare,  County  Roscommon. 

John  O'Donoghue,  Esq.,  Dublin. 

The  O' Donovan,  Montpelier,  Douglas,  Cork. 

'John    O'Donovan,    Esq.,    Newcomen-place, 
Dublin. 

The  O'Dowda,  Bonniconlan  House,  Ballina. 

'Joseph  Michael   O'Ferrall,  Esq.,   Rutland- 
square,  West,  Dublin. 

The  Right  Hon.  R.  More  O'Ferrall,  Gover- 
nor of  Malta. 

'William  Ogilhy,  Esq.,  London. 

Nicholas    Purcell  O'Gorman,    Esq.,    Q.  C., 
Blessington-street,  Dublin. 

Richard  O'Gorman,  Esq.,  Lower  Dominick- 
street,  Dublin. 

The  O'Grady,  Kilballyowen,  Bruff. 

Thomas  O'Hagan,  Esq.,  Great  Charles-st, 
Dublin. 

Major  O'Hara,  Annamoe,  Collooney. 

Sir  Colman  M.  O'Loghlen,  Bart,  Merrion- 
square  South,  Dublin. 

Richard    O'Reilly,    Esq.,   Upper   Sackville- 
street,  Dublin. 

Richard  O'Shaughnessy,  Esq.,   Lower  Gar- 
diner-street, Dublin. 

Rev.  Mortimer  O'Sullivan,  D.  D.,  Killyman. 

George    Panton,    Esq.,    Heriot's    Hospital, 
Edinburgh. 

Marcus  Patterson,  Esq.,  Clifden  House,  Cu- 
rofin. 

Right  Hon.  Sir  Robert  Peel,  Bart.,   M.  P., 
London. 

Louis  Hayes  Petit,  Esq.,  F.  R.  S.,  London. 

George    Petrie,    Esq.,    LL.  D.,     R.  H.  A. 
V.  P.  R.  I.  A.,  Great  Charles-st.,  Dublin, 

*  Sir  Thomas   Phillipps,    Bart.,    Middlehill, 
Broadway,  Worcestershire. 

dl 


John  Edward  Pigott,  Esq.,  Merrion-square, 
South,  Dublin. 

Robert  Pitcairn,  Esq.,  Queen-street,  Edin- 
burgh. 

'Rev.  Charles  Porter,  Bally  bay. 

Rev.  Classen  Porter,  Larne. 

Colonel  Henry  Edward  Porter,  Minterne, 
Dorchester. 

Robt.  Power,  Esq.,  Pembroke-place,  Dublin. 

Lieutenant- Colonel  Joseph  Pratt,  Calra 
Castle,  Kingscourt. 

Hon.  Edward  Preston,  Gormanstown  Castle, 
Balbriggan. 

Colonel  J.  Dawson  Rawdon,  M.  P.,  Cold- 
stream  Guards,  Stanhope-street,  London. 

Thomas  M.  Ray,  Esq.,  Dublin. 

Thomas  N.  Redington,  Esq.,  M.  R.  I.  A., 
Under  Secretary  for  Ireland,  Dublin  Cas- 
tle. 

Henry  Thompson  Redmond,  Esq.,  Carrick- 
on-Suir. 

Rev.  William  Reeves,  M.  B.,  Ballymena. 

Lewis  Reford,  Esq.,  Beechmount,  Belfast. 

W.  Reilly,  Esq.,  Belmont,  Mullingar. 

Rev.  Laurence  F.  Renehan,  D.  D.,  Presi- 
dent of  St.  Patrick's  College,  Maynooth. 

Rev.  G.  C.  Renouard,  B.  D.,  Dartford, 
Kent. 

E.  William  Robertson,  Esq.,  Breadsall  Pri- 
ory, Derby. 

Rev.  Thomas  R.  Robinson,  D.  D.,  M.  R.  I.  A., 
Observatory,  Armagh. 

George  Roe,  Esq.,  Nutley,  Dublin. 

Richard  Rothwell,  Esq..  Rockfield,  Kells. 

Rev.  Charles  Russell,  D.  D.,  St.  Patrick's 
College,  Maynooth. 

Rev.  Franc  Sadleir,  D.  D.,  V.  P.R.I.  A., 
Provost  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin. 

John   Sadleir,  Esq.,  Great  Denmark-street, 

Dublin. 

Rev. 


28 


Rev.  George  Salmon,  A.  M.,  Fellow  of  Tri- 
nity College,  Dublin. 
Rev.  Francis  A.  Sanders,  A.  B.,  Lower  Fitz- 

william-street,  Dublin. 
Robert  Sharpe,  Esq.,  Coleraine. 
Right   Hon.    Frederick  Shaw,  Recorder  of 

Dublin,  Kimmage  House. 
Evelyn  John  Shirley,  Esq.,   M.  P.,  Carrick- 

m  across. 
Evelyn  Philip  Shirley,  Esq.,  Eatington  Park, 

Shipton-on-Stour. 
Rev.  Joseph  H.   Singer,  D.  D.,  M.  R.  I.  A., 

Senior  Fellow  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin. 
W.  F.  Skene,  Esq.,  Edinburgh. 
Aquilla  Smith,  Esq.,  M.  D.,  M.  R.  I.  A.,  121, 

Lower  Baggot-street,  Dublin. 
'George  Smith,  Esq.,  Lower   Haggot-street, 

Dublin. 
•George  Smith,  F.  R.  S.,  Trevu,  Camborne, 

England. 

•Rev.  J.  Campbell  Smith,  A.  B.,  Rome. 
J.  Huband  Smith,  Esq.,  A.  M.,  M.  R.  I.  A., 

Holies  street,  Dublin. 

Win. Smith,  Esq.,  Carbcth,  Guthrie,  Glasgow. 
John  Smith,  Esq.,  LL.  D.,  Secretary  to  the 

Maitland  Club,  Glasgow. 
John  G.  Smyly.Esq.,  Upper  Merrion-street, 

Dublin. 
George   Lewis  Smyth,    Esq.,    Derby-street, 

London. 
The  Right  Hon.  Sir  Win.  Meredyth  Somer- 

ville,  Bart.,  M.  P.,  Somcrville,  Drogheda. 
Rev.  Thomas  Stack,  A.  M.,  M.  R.  I.  A.,  Fel- 
low of  Trinity  College,  Dublin. 
Augustus  Stafford  Esq.,  M.  P.,  Blatherwycke 

Park,  Northamptonshire. 
Michael  Staunton,  Esq.,  Marlborough-street, 

Dublin. 

John  Vandeleur  Stewart,  Esq.,  Rockhill,  Let- 
terkennv. 


Colonel  William  Stewart,  Killymoon,  Cooks- 
town. 

William  Stokes,  Esq.,  M.  D.,  M.  R.  I.  A., 
Regius  Professor  of  Physic,  Dublin. 

The  Yen.  Charles  Strong,  A.  M.,  M.  R.  I.  A., 
Archdeacon  of  Glendalough,  Cavendish- 
row,  Dublin. 

Hon.  and  Rev.  Andrew  Godfrey  Stuart, 
Rectory  of  Cottesmore,  Oakham. 

William  Villiers  Stuart,  Esq.,  Dromana,  Cap- 
poquin. 

Rev.  George  Studdert,  A.  M.,  Dundalk. 

'Thomas  Swanton,  Esq.,  Crannliath,  Ballida- 
hob,  Skibbereen. 

Walter  Sweetman,  Esq.,  Mountjoy-square, 
North,  Dublin. 

James  Talbot,  Esq.,  Evercreech  House,  Shep- 
ton  Mallet,  Somersetshire. 

Bartholomew  M.  Tabuteau,  Esq.,  Fitzwil- 
liam-place,  Dublin. 

'Edward  King  Tenison,  Esq.,  Castle  Teni- 
son,  Keadue,  Carrick-on-Shannon. 

•Robert  J.  Tennent,  Esq.,  Belfast. 

•James  Thompson,  Esq.,  Ballysillan,  Belfast. 

Robert  Tighe,  Esq.,  M.  R.  I.  A.,  Fitzwil- 
liam-square,  North  Dublin. 

"William  Fownes  Tighe,  Esq.,  Woodstock, 
Inistiogue. 

•Rev.  James  H.  Todd,  D.  D.,  M.  R.  I.  A., 
Fellow  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin. 

James  Ruddell  Todd,  Esq.,  London. 

Rev.  John  M.  Traherne,  Coednglan,  Cardiff. 
William  B.  C.  C.  Turnbull,  Esq.,  Advocate, 
F.  S.  A.,  Edinburgh. 

Travers  Twiss,  Esq.,  D.  C.  L.,  F.  R.  S.,  Uni- 
versity College,  Oxford. 

'Henry  Tyler,  Esq.,  Newtown-Limavaddy. 
Crofton    Moore   Vandeleur,    Esq.,   Rutland- 
square,  Dublin. 
Edward  Crips  Villiers,  Esq.,  Kilpeaeon. 

Rev. 


29 


Rev.  Charles  W.  Wall,  D.  D.,  V.  P.  R.  I.  A., 

Senior  Fellow  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin. 

James  A.  Wall,  Esq.,  Baggot-street,  Dublin. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Walshe,  Carlow. 

Samuel  Hibbert  Ware,  Esq.,  M.D.,  F.R.S.E., 
Edinburgh. 

Charles  T.  Webber,  Esq.,  M.  R.  I.  A.,  Up- 
per Gloucester-street,  Dublin. 

James  Whiteside,  Esq.,  Q.  C.,  M.  R.  I.  A., 
Mountjoy-square,  Dublin. 

William  Robert  Wilde,  Esq.,  Westland- 
row,  Dublin. 

The  Ven.  Archdeacon  Williams,  Edinburgh. 

Richard  Palmer  Williams,  Esq.,  M.  R.  I.  A., 
Drumcondra  Castle,  Dublin. 


Wm.  Williams,  Esq.,   Aberpergwm,   Neath, 
South  Wales. 

Rev.  John  Wilson,  B.  D.,  Fellow  of  Trinity 
College,  Oxford. 

Rev.  James  Wilson,  D.  D.,  M.  R.  I.  A.,  Pre- 
centor of  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  Dublin. 

Lestock,  P.  Wilson,  Esq.,  London. 

John  Windele,  Esq.,  Sunday's  Well,  Cork. 

Edward  Wright,  Esq.,  Upper  Leeson-street, 

Dublin. 

•John  Wynne,  Esq.,  M.  R.  I.  A.,  Hazlewood, 
Sligo. 

Rev.  Walter  Young,  Lisbellaw,  Enniskillen. 
The  Very  Rev.  William  Yore,  D.  D.,  V.  G.. 
Queen-street,  Dublin. 


LIBRARIES  ENTITLED  TO  THE  1THLICATIOXS  OF  THE  SOCIETY. 


Academy,  Royal  Irish. 

Advocates'  Library,  Edinburgh. 

Athenseum,  London. 

Belfast  Library 

Bodleian  Library,  Oxford. 

British  Museum. 

Cambridge  Public  Library. 

Cork  Library. 

College  of  St.  Columba. 

Dublin  Society,  Royal. 

Dublin  University  Library. 

Edinburgh  University  Library. 


Irish  Office,  London. 

King's  Inns'  Library,  Dublin. 

Kildare-street  Club,  Dublin. 

Limerick  Institution. 

London  Institution,  Finsbury  Circus. 

London  Library,  Pall  Mall. 

Archbishop  Marsh's  Library,  Dublin. 

Oxford  and  Cambridge  Club,  London. 

The  Portico  Library,  Manchester. 

The  Signet  Library,  Edinburgh. 

St.  Stephen's  Green  Club,  Dublin. 


FUNDAMENTAL 


3° 

FUNDAMENTAL  LAWS  OF  THE  SOCIETY. 

I.  The  number  of  Members  shall  be  limited  to  500. 

II.  The  affairs  of  the  Society  shall  be  managed  by  a  Council,  consisting  of  a  Pre- 
sident, three  Vice-Presidents,  and  twelve  other  Members,  to  be  annually  elected  by 
the  Society. 

III.  Those  Noblemen  and  Gentlemen  who  have  been  admitted  Members  prior  to 
the  first  day  of  May,  1841,  shall  be  deemed  the  original  Members  of  the  Society,  and 
all  future  Members  shall  be  elected  by  the  Council. 

IV.  Each  Member  shall  pay  four  pounds  on  the  first  year  of  his  election,  and  one 
pound  every  subsequent  year.     These  payments  to  be  made  in  advance,  on  or  before 
the  first  day  of  January,  annually. 

V.  Such  Members  as  desire  it  may  become  Life  Members  on  payment  of  the  sum 
of  thirteen  pounds,  or  ten  pounds  (if  they  have  already  paid  their  entrance  fee),  in  lieu 
of  the  annual  subscription. 

VI.  Every  Member  whose  subscription  is  not  in  arrear  shall  be  entitled  to  receive 
one  copy  of  each  publication  of  the  Society  issued  subsequently  to  his  admission  ;  and 
the  books  printed  by  the  Society  shall  not  be  sold  to  the  Public. 

VII.  No  Member  who  is  three  months  in  arrear  of  his  subscription  shall  be  en- 
titled to  vote,  or  to  any  other  privilege  of  a  Member  ;  and  any  Member  who  shall  be 
one  year  in  arrear  of  his  subscription,  shall  be  liable  to  be  removed  by  the  Council 
from  the  books  of  the  Society,  after  due  notice  served  upon  him  to  that  effect. 

VIII.  Any  Member  who  shall  gratuitously  edit  any  book  approved  of  by  the 
Council,  shall  be  entitled  to  twenty  copies  of  such  book,  when  printed,  for  his  own 
use  :  and  the  Council  shall  at  all  times  be  ready  to  receive  suggestions  from  Members 
relative   to   such  rare  books  or  manuscripts  as  they  may  be  acquainted  with,  and 
which  they  may  deem  worthy  of  being  printed  by  the  Society. 

IX.  The  Council  shall  have  power  to  appoint  officers,  and  to  make  by-laws  not  in- 
consistent with  the  Fundamental  Laws  of  the  Society. 

X.  No  person  shall  be  elected  a  Member  of  the  Society  until  the  entrance  fee  and 
subscription  for  the  current  year  be  paid  to  the  Treasurer  or  one  of  the  Local   Se- 
cretaries. 


Noblemen  and  Gentlemen  desirous  of  becoming  Members  of  the  Irish  Archaeo- 
logical  Society  are  requested   to  forward  their  names  and  addresses  to  the  Secre- 
tary, 


31 

tary,  Rev.  Dr.  Todd,  Trinity  College,  Dublin.  Literary  Societies  and  public  Libraries 
may  procure  the  Society's  publications  by  paying  an  admission  fee  of  £3  and  an  annual 
subscription  of  £i,  but  without  the  privilege  of  compounding  for  the  annual  sub- 
scription. 


PUBLICATIONS  FOR  THE  YEAR   1841. 
.1.  Tracts  relating  to  Ireland,  vol.  I.  containing: 

1.  The  Circuit  of  Ireland  ;  by  Muircheartach  Mac  Neill,  Prince  of  Aileach  ;  a 
Poem  written  in  the  year  942  by  Cormacan  Eigeas,  Chief  Poet  of  the  North 
of  Ireland.     Edited,  with  a  Translation  and  Notes,  and  a  Map  of  the  Circuit, 
by  JOHN  O'DONOVAN,  Esq. 

2.  "A  Brife  Description  of  Ireland,  made  in  this  year   1589,  by  Robert  Payne, 
vnto  xxv.  of  his  partners,  for  whom  he  is  vndertaker  there."     Reprinted  from 
the  second  edition,  London,  1590,  with  a  Preface  and  Notes,  by  AQUILLA  SMITH, 
M.  D.,  M.R.I. A. 

II.  The  Annals  of  Ireland,  by  James  Grace,  of  Kilkenny.  Edited  from  the  MS. 
in  the  Library  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  in  the  original  Latin,  with  a  Translation 
and  Notes,  by  the  REV.  RICHARD  BUTLER,  A.  B.,  M.  R.  I.  A. 

PUBLICATIONS  FOR  THE  YEAR  1842. 

I.  Cach  ITluijhi  Rach.     The  Battlq  of  Magh  Rath  (Moira),  from  an  ancient  MS. 
in  the  Library  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin.  Edited  in  the  original  Irish,  with  a  Trans- 
lation and  Notes,  by  JOHN  O'DONOVAN. 

II.  Tracts  relating  to  Ireland,  vol.  n.  containing : 

1.  "A  Treatise  of  Ireland  ;  by  John  Dymmok."     Edited  from  a  MS.   in  the 
British  Museum,  with  Notes,  by  the  REV.  RICHAUD  BUTLER,  A.  B.,  M.  R.  I.  A. 

2.  The  Annals  of  Multiterriam;  from  the  original  MS.  in  the  Library  of  Trinity 
College,  Dublin.     Edited  by  AQUILLA  SMITH,  M.  D.,  M.  R.  I.  A. 

3.  A  Statute  passed  at  a  Parliament  held  at  Kilkenny,  A.  D.  1367;  from  a  MS. 
in  the  British  Museum.     Edited,  with  a  Translation  and  Notes,   by   JAMES 
HARDIMAN,  Esq.,  M.  R.  I.  A. 

PUBLICATIONS  FOR  THE  YEAR  1843. 

I.  An  Account  of  the  Tribes  and  Customs  of  the  District  of  Hy-Many,  commonly 
called  O'Kelly's  Country,  in  the  Counties  of  Galway  and  Roscommon.  Edited  from 


32 

the  Book  of  Lecan  in  the  Library  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  in  the  original  Irish ; 
•with  a  Translation  and  Notes,  and  a  Map  of  Hy-Many,  by  JOHN  O'DONOVAN,  Esq. 

II.  The  Book  of  Obits  and  Martyrology  of  the  Cathedral  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  com- 
monly called  Christ  Church,  Dublin.  Edited  from  the  original  MS.  in  the  Library  of 
Trinity  College,  Dublin.  By  the  REV.  JOHN  CLARKE  CROSTHWAITE,  A.  M.,  Rector  of 
St.  Mary-at-Hill,  and  St.  Andrew  Hubbard,  London.  With  an  Introduction  by  JAMES 
HENTHORN  TODD,  D.  D.,  V.  P.  II.  I.  A.,  Fellow  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin. 

PUBLICATIONS  FOR  THE  YEAR  1844. 

I.  "  Uegistrum  Ecclesie  Omnium  Sanctorum  juxta  Dublin;"  from  the  original 
MS.  in  the  Library  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin.     Edited  by  the  REV.  KICHAKD  BUT- 
LER, A.  B.,  M.  R.  I.  A. 

II.  An  Account  of  the  Tribes  and  Customs  of  the  District  of  Hy-Fiachrach,  in  the 
Counties  of  Sligo  and  Mayo.     Edited  from  the  Br>ok  of  Lecan,  in  the  Library  of  the 
Royal  Irish  Academy,  and  from  a  copy  of  the  Mac  Firbis  MS.  in  the  possession  of  the 
Earl  of  Roden.     With  a  Translation  and  Notes,  and  a  Map  of  Hy-Fiachrach.     By 
JOHN  O'DONOVAN,  Esq. 

PUBLICATION  FOR  THE  YEAR  I  845, 

A  Description  of  West  or  II-Iar  Connaught,  by  Roderic  O'Flaherty,  Author  of  the 
Ogygiu,  written  A.  D.  1684.  Edited  from  a  MS.  in  the  Library  of  Trinity  College, 
Dublin,  with  copious  Notes  and  an  Appendix.  By  JAMES  HAKDIMAN,  Esq.,  M.  R.  LA. 

PUBLICATION  FOR  THE  YEAR   1  846. 

The  Miscellany  of  the  Irish  Archaeological  Society.     Vol.  I.  containing: 

1.  An  ancient  Poem  attributed  to  St.  Columbkillc,  with  a  Translation  and  Notes 
by  JOHN  O'DONOVAN,  Esq. 

2.  DC  Concilio  Hibernia;  ;  the  earliest  extant  record  of  a  Parliament  in  Ireland; 
with  Notes  by  the  Rev.  R.  BUTLER. 

3.  Copy  of  the  Award  as  concerning  the  Tolboll  (Dublin)  :  contributed  by  DR. 
AQUILLA  SMITH. 

4.  Pedigree  of  Dr.  Dominick  Lynch,   Regent  of  the  Colledge  of  St.  Thomas  of 
Aquin,  in  Seville,  A.  D.  1674  :  contributed  by  JAMES  HARDIMAN,  Esq. 

5.  A  Latin  Poem,  by  Dr.  John  Lynch,  Author  of  Cambrensis  Eversus,  in  reply 
to  the  Question,  Cur  in  patrium  non  redis  ?     Contributed  by  JAMES  HARUI- 
MAN,  Esq. 

6. 


33 

6.  The  Obits  of  Kilcormick,  now  Frankfort,  King's  County :  contributed  by  the 
REV.  J.  H.  TODD. 

7.  Ancient  Testaments:  contributed  by  DR.  A<JUILLA  SMITH. 

8.  Autograph  Letter  of  Thady  O'Roddy  :  with  some  Notices  of  the  Author  by 
the  REV.  J.  H.  TODD. 

9.  Autograph  Letter  of  Oliver  Cromwell  to  his  son,  Harry  Cromwell,  Com- 
mander in  Chief  in  Ireland  :  contributed  by  DR.  A.  SMITH. 

i  o.  The  Irish  Charters  in  the  Book  of  Kells,  with  a  Translation  and  Notes  by 
JOHN  O'DoNOVAN,  Esq. 

11.  Original  Charter  granted  by  John  Lord  of  Ireland,   to  the  Abbey  of  Melli- 
font  :  contributed  by  DR.  A.  SMITH. 

12.  A  Journey  to  Connaught  in  1709  by  Dr.  Thomas  Molyneux  :  contributed  by 
DR.  A.  SMITH. 

1 3.  A  Covenant  in  Irish  between  Mageoghegan  and  the  Fox ;  with  a  Translation, 
and  historical  Notices  of  the  two  Families,  by  JOHN  O'DONOVAN,  Esq. 

14.  The  Annals  of  Ireland,  from  A.  D.  1453  to  1468,  translated  from  a  lost  Irish 
original,  by  Dudley  Firbisse  ;  with  Notes  by  J.  O'DoNOVAN,  Esq. 

PUBLICATION  FOR  THE  YEAR  1847. 

The  Irish  Version  of  the  "  Historia  Britonum"  of  Nennius,  or,  as  it  is  called  in 
Irish  MSS.,  teabap  &pecnac,  the  British  Book.  Edited  from  the  Book  of  Ballimote, 
collated  with  copies  in  the  Book  of  Lecan,  and  in  the  Library  of  Trinity  College, 
Dublin,  with  a  Translation  and  Notes  by  JAMES  HENTHORN  TODD,  D.  D.,  M.  R.  I.  A., 
Fellow  of  Trinity  College,  &c.  ;  and  additional  Notes  and  an  Introduction  by  the  Hon. 
ALGERNON  HERBERT. 

WORKS  IN  THE  PRESS. 

I.  Cormac's  Glossary  ;   with   a  Translation   and  Notes  by  JOHN  O'DONOVAN   and 
EUGENE  CURRY,  Esqrs. 

II.  The  Annals  of  Ireland,  by  John  Clyn,  of  Kilkenny ;  from  a  MS.  in  the  Library 
of  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  collated   with  another  in  the  Bodleian  Library,  Oxford. 
Edited,  with  Notes,  by  the  VERY  REV.  RICHARD  BUTLER,  M.  R.  I.  A.,  Dean  of  Clon- 
macnois. 

III.  The  Annals  of  Ireland,  by  Thady  Dowling,  Chancellor  of  Leighlin.     Edited, 
with  Notes,  by  AQUILLA  SMITH,  M.  D.,  M.  R.  I.  A.,  from  a  MS.  in  the  Library  of 
Trinity  College,  Dublin. 

e  PUBLICATIONS 


34 

PUBLICATIONS  SUGGESTED  OR  IN  PROGRESS. 

The  following  Works  are  many  of  them  nearly  ready  for  the  Press,  and  will  be 
undertaken  as  soon  as  the  funds  of  the  Society  will  permit  : 

I.  The  Irish  Archseological  Miscellany,  vol.  II. 

II.  The  Annals  of  Ulster.     With  a  Translation  and  Notes.     Edited  from  a  MS. 
in  the  Library  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  collated  with  the  Translation  made  for  Sir  • 
.James  Ware  by  Dudley  or  Duald  Mac  Firbis,  a  MS.  in  the  British  Museum,  by  JAMES 
HENTHORN  TODD,  D.  D.,  M.  K.  I.  A.,  and  JOHN  O'DONOVAN,  Esq. 

III.  The  Annals  of  Innisfallen ;  from  a  MS.  in  the  Bodleian  Library,  Oxford ;  with 
a  Translation  and  Notes  by  JOHN  O'DONOVAN,  Esq. 

IV.  MacaricC  Excidium,  the  Destruction  of  Cyprus;  being  a  secret  History  of  the 
Civil  War  in  Ireland  tinder  James  II.,  by  Colonel  Charles  O'Kelly.     Edited  in  the 
Latin,  from  a  MS.  in  the  possession  of  the  late  Professor  Mac  Cullagh,  with  a  Trans- 
lation, by  DENIS  HENRY  KELLY,  Esq.  ;  and  Notes  by  JOHN  O'CALLAGHAN,  Esq. 

V.  Ecclesiastical  Taxation  of  Ireland,  circ.  1500.     Edited  from  the  original  Ex- 
chequer Rolls,  in  the  Carlton-Ricle  Record  Office,  London,  with  Notes,  by  the  REV. 
WILLIAM  REEVES,  M.  B.,  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin. 

VI.  The  Liber  Hymnorum;  from  the  original  MS.  in  the  Library  of  Trinity  Col- 
lege, Dublin.     Edited  by  the  REV.  JAMES  HENTHORN  TODD,  D.  D.,  M.  R.  I.  A.,  Fellow 
of  Trinity  College,  and  the  REV.  WILLIAM  REEVES,  M.  B. 

VII.  Sir  William  Petty's  Narrative  of  his  Proceedings  in  the  Survey  of  Ireland  ; 
from  a  MS.  in  the  Library  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin.     Edited,  with  Notes,  by  THOS. 
A.  LARCOM,  Esq.,  Major  R.  E.,  V.  P.  R.  I.  A. 

VIII.  Articles  of  Capitulation  and  Surrender  of  Cities,  To\yns,  Castles,  Forts,  &c., 
in  Ireland,  to  the  Parliamentary  Forces,  from  A.  D.  1649  to  1654.     Edited,  with  His- 
torical Notices,  by  JAMES  HARUIMAN,  Esq.,  M.  R.  I.  A. 

IX.  The  Genealogy  and  History  of  the  Saints  of  Ireland:  from  the  Book  of  Lecan. 
Edited,  with  a  Translation  and  Notes,  by  JOHN  O'DONOVAN,  Esq.,  and  JAMES  HEN- 
THORN  TODD,  D.  1). 

X.  An  Account  of  the  Firbolgs  and  Danes  of  Ireland,  by  Duald  Mac  Firbis,  from 
a  MS.  in  the  Library  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin,   with  a  Translation  and  Notes,  by 
JOHN  O'DONOVAN,  Esq. 

XL  fcopuma.  The  Origin  and  History  of  the  Boromean  Tribute.  Edited  from  a 
MS.  in  the  Library  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  with  a  Translation  and  Notes,  by  EU- 
GENE CURKY,  Esq. 

XII.  The  Progresses  of  the  Lords  Lieutenant  in  Ireland;  from  MSS.  in  the  Library 
of  Trinity  College,  Dublin.  Edited  by  JOSEPH  HUBAND  SMITH,  Esq.,  A.M.,  M.R.I.A., 

XIII. 


35 

XIII.  A  Treatise  on  the  Ogham  or  occult  Forms  of  Writing  of  the  ancient  Irish  ; 
.from  a  MS.  in  the  Library  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin  ;  with  a  Translation  and  Notes, 
and  preliminary  Dissertation,  by  the  REV.  CHARLES  GRAVES,  A.M.,  M.E.I.  A.,  Fellow 
of  Trinity  College,  and  Professor  of  Mathematics  in  the  University  of  Dublin. 

XIV.  The  Topographical  Poems  of  O'Heerin  and  O'Duggan;  with  Notes  by  JOHN 

O'DONOVAN,  Esq. 


In  addition  to  the  foregoing  projected  Publications,  there  are  many  important 
works  in  the  contemplation  of  the  Council,  which  want  of  funds  alone  prevents  the 
possibility  of  their  undertaking,  such  as  the  Brehon  Laws,  the  Dinnseanchus,  the 
Feilire  or  Festilogium  of  Aengus  the  Culdee,  the  Annals  of  Connaught,  the  Annals 
of  Tigernach,  &c.,  &c. 


Robarts  Library 

DUE    DATE: 

May  5,  1 992 


J1S 


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